Joined at the Hip
by Livelier
Summary: After six years of James chasing Lily and failing, Sirius decides to take matters into his own hands...Oh, Merlin. Things could get crazy. Rated T for later chapters and a bit of language. R&R? Final chapter is up!
1. The News

Chapter 1:

Chapter 1: Odd Beginnings

Please tell me this isn't happening. Please tell me this isn't happening. That seemed to have been my mantra for the last 6 years, and it appeared that this one was no different.

"Potter," I snarled at the tall figure in front of me. Honestly, I couldn't really see what made all the girls at Hogwarts chase hopelessly after him. Sure, he was very handsome—not that I would ever admit that to him, or anyone for that matter—and was captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, but his messy, black hair, and over-inflated head infuriates me rather than makes me want to snog him senseless. Not to mention the irritating habit he had of asked me out every five minutes.

I spun around to walk the other way—I wouldn't want to create a scene, you know—but his hand caught me before I could take even a step. "Remove your hand, before I remove it for you," I spat through clenched teeth, attributing the shivers that shot down my spine to revulsion.

His hand slowly retracted, and he met my glare evenly. I had to mentally slap myself when my breathing hitched in my throat from staring into his deep hazel eyes for too long a time.

"I just wanted to congratulate you on making Head Girl, but I can see when I'm not wanted," James said. Hurt touched his eyes, and with a tiny, apologetic smile on his lips, he walked away from me.

That was odd.

I stood there, in the middle of Platform 9 ¾ with a stunned expression on my face, and my arm half-extended. I earned several peculiar looks from the families bustling around me, but I didn't even see them. _What in Merlin's name just happened?_

I didn't have any more time to ponder that question, as the whistle blew, announcing the last call for boarding of the Hogwarts Express.

Levitating my trunks in front of me—ah, the privileges of being of age—I shuffled through the narrow corridor of the train, looking for my two best friends, Alice Prewett and Emmeline Vance. I froze when I found them sitting with James Potter and his fellow Marauders.

Everyone looked up at the sound of the compartment door sliding open. I was immediately met with squeals of delight and hugs from my two friends, but I hardly noticed. I was too busy staring at James, waiting for that arrogant smirk to flash across his face, or make some suggestive comment. But none came. He didn't even run his hands through that blasted hair—he just stared right back with a blank face. Finally, he stood up and took my trunks to stow them overhead.

"Thanks," I muttered. Six pairs of eyes stared at me. "What?" I asked defensively.

Alice shook her head at me and smiled knowingly. What she knew, I had no idea. She took my hand shoved me down onto the seat between her and James. "How was your holiday, Lils?" Alice asked eagerly.

Alice was fairly short—5'4"—and wore her light brown hair medium-length. People were naturally drawn to her because of her dazzling smile and bubbly personality. The room always seemed to brighten when her full lips pulled back over her sparkly white teeth. It was a very good thing she was involved in a happy, long time relationship.

"It was three months with Petunia—what do you think?" I replied, a bit bitter. Alice and Emmeline were both part of wealthy, pureblood families, and they spent their holidays at their vacation homes, or mansions, in Greece or Italy.

Em scowled and nodded her agreement. "I wish you could have come with us. I feel for anyone who has to spend their break with that cow and her dreadful fiancé."

Anyone with half a brain could see why Emmeline was my best friend. Her outspoken nature, mixed with my brains, and Alice's outgoing personality equals dangerous. Our group was similar to the Marauders in that way, except we tend to obey the rules much, much more.

Sirius Black, James's best friend and fellow leader of the infamous Marauders, snorted and nodded understandingly. "Believe me, Evans, you're not the only one with a screwed up family," Sirius said.

"Oh, really?" I challenged, raising my eyebrows. "Does your sister call you a freak for being able to do magic, and refuse to include you as a member of the family?"

Sirius laughed humorlessly. "Does your younger brother coerce with Voldemort himself? Or, better yet, did your family disown you when you were fifteen because you were put in Gryffindor?" he shot back. His eyes flashed and his hands clenched into fists on the seat. James shot me a look that clearly said, "Oh, Lily. Open mouth; insert foot."

So, I did they only thing I could think of. "Well, I bet you and James had a fun time over the holidays, then." Everyone turned to look at me, their jaws slack for the second time in 10 minutes. "What? Are you trying to catch flies?" I snapped at them.

Sensing the tension, James stood and strode purposefully to the door. There was something different about his stride, I noticed. He didn't swagger so much anymore. Now he just walked with a focus, with a goal.

"Where are you going?" Em asked. We had just left the station—there was no way he could need to stretch already.

James exchanged a glace with Remus, and then looked back at Em and shrugged. He left the compartment without another day.

I slumped in my seat and crossed my arms over my chest, pondering. Potter was acting very…unPotterish. Actually, we both were. Accidentally calling him 'James' was not normal for me, and not exploiting every possible moment available to ask me out was not characteristic of him. Something was definitely different, but it was too soon to tell whether it was a good thing or not.

"Lily, don't you have somewhere to be?" Alice's voice broke through my thoughts. Noticing the blank look on my face, she prompted, "The Prefects meeting…?"

I shot out of my seat and bolted to the sliding door. "Oh crap! Remus, I'll see you there in a few minutes. Bye!" I called over my shoulder as I nearly ran to the Prefects compartment. In my haste, I completely forgot to fret about who the Head Boy could possibly be.

"Sorry I'm late!" I panted as I entered the room. The chair at the head of the oval table spun around to reveal—Potter?

"Don't worry about it, Lily, I was just early," James excused with a wave of his hand. "I had a few issues I wanted to discuss with you."

I was startled, to say the least, but I pushed all previous misconceptions—where the hell did that come from? —away and focused on being the best Head Girl I could be.

When the Prefects entered the compartment 10 minutes later, James and I were talking quietly and professionally about the duties we would have to perform over the year. We hadn't even noticed them all come in until we heard their collective sighs and groans. The Slytherins were more open in voicing their opinions.

"Potter and the Mudblood as Heads? Lovely year this should be," Lucius Malfoy sneered, laying on the sarcasm extra thick. Others nodded their agreement as they took their seats.

"Oi! Shut it!" James bellowed. The room quieted down automatically, but the Slytherins glared balefully at him. "Now," he went on in a softer tone, "if anyone has a problem with either Lily or I as Heads—wait!—then I suggest you get out because Lily and I will be here all year. We have a job to uphold and I'll be damned if I let on of you get in our way. Is that clear?" He locked eyes with every Prefect around the table before nodded approvingly and sitting down.

If I was startled before, now I was shell-shocked and on the verge of falling out of my chair, but I ignored that and stood up.

I handled the directions and scheduling while James observed and occasionally added a much-appreciated joke into the mix. At the end of the meeting, nearly everyone left feeling like this year would be the best yet. I saw Remus flash James a thumbs up before leaving.

As soon as everyone was gone, I turned to James; it was time to get my answers. "Who are you and what have you done with Potter?" I demanded, placing a hand on my hip.

James momentarily paused before placing the last piece of parchment in his folder. "Listen, Lily, I'm 17 now. In just one year, I won't have Dumbledore or my mum and dad to protect me anyone. It's about time I start acting like the adult I'm expected to be," he explained, running a hand through his messy, black hair.

I don't think it's possible to force my mouth open even further. In fact, I think someone could fit a large rock in it without any troubles. "So…should I check every closet on the train, or is he bound and gagged in this very room?" I asked, only half joking.

James laughed and tucked his folder under his arm. "Why, Miss Evans, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you're worried about me. Ladies first," he said, holding the door open for me.

"Thanks," I replied, giving him a genuine smile. I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes danced at this simple gesture. "And it's a very good thing you know better." And if _I _didn't know better, I'd say I was flirting with the git! But, I have to admit, it's kind of fun, I daresay.

"Well, I think we are going to do a great job as Heads this year," James said.

And when I looked at the expression on his face, I knew he was right. "Yeah. Yeah we will."


	2. The Plan

_A/N: Hey, guys. Sorry it took me so long to post this. I had it all written out, but I have just been so busy lately. I'm going to be so glad when school ends for the summer. Maybe I'll have some more free time to get things like this done. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's really short, but important, nonetheless. R&R, please!_

* * *

Chapter 2: The Plan

_(*After Lily and James have both left the compartment*)_

"Well, thank God they're gone," Sirius announced as soon as the door slid shut. He propped his feet up on the seat that James had occupied not five minutes ago.

"Tell me about it," Emmeline muttered, stretching out just like Sirius had done. "The sexual tension in here was so thick you could cut it with a knife—don't you dare make something out of that, Black!"

Sirius somehow managed to purse his lips and smirk at the same time. "Of course not, Ma'am."

"It's obvious Lily likes him, she just doesn't want to admit it," Alice piped up happily.

"How do you know?" Peter asked her, his brow knitting together in confusion.

But it was Remus who answered his question. "You could see it in her eyes when James took her trunk, and she keep slipping and calling him 'James'," Remus replied, never taking his eyes off the book he was reading.

Sirius looked at him disbelievingly. "How does he do that?" he grumbled to himself.

"Remus is right," Emmeline declared reasonably. "We just have to find a way to make _Lily _realize it."

Sirius's eyes lit up, and a mischievous grin spread across his face slowly. Remus looked up, unused to silence when Sirius is involved. They locked eyes for a moment, and Remus raised his eyebrows.

"That could work…" he mused, pursing his lips in thought. "But James couldn't know that we're behind it."

"Behind what?" Emmeline and Alice demanded in unison.

"Sirius has an idea to get them together," Peter explained, staring raptly at Sirius and Remus.

"Hmm, yes, you're right," Sirius muttered. Suddenly, his eyes lit up again and looked sharply to Remus and Peter.

Remus shook his head, even though Sirius hadn't said anything yet. "No, Lily would get too suspicious. That would never work."

"Not to mention what James would do. He would be pissed," Peter added.

"Are we missing something here?" Alice asked, tilting her head to one side. They ignored her.

All three of them jumped up rather abruptly. "Got it!" they announced together, raising a finger in the air.

Emmeline threw her hands up in frustration. "Would you tell us what the bloody hell is running through those thick skulls of yours? Except you, Remus, you're head is remarkably thin—wait, I didn't mean—"

"Shut up, Em," Alice advised. Emmeline blushed, ducking her head so her hair created a sort of curtain around her red face. "Go on." Alice waved her hand, allowing them to proceed.

Sirius beckoned them closer and told them their plan in excited but hushed tones.

"Bloody brilliant," Emmeline said, grinning like mad. "Good plan, boys. Merlin, I never thought I'd say that…"

Remus turned to Alice. "Well? What do you think, Alice?" he asked her hopefully.

She scrunched up her nose, thinking of the pros and cons of their plan and how Lily would react when she found out. Throwing heavy and/or sharp objects would undoubtedly occur but more good things could come out of it than bad. A huge smile lit up her face. "Where do I sign?"

For the next ten minutes the five of them discussed how to carry out their plan. Only one thing was unanimously decided: Lily and James can't know.

After Remus left for the Prefects meeting, the conversation turned to less serious avenues. Imagining Lily's facial expression when she finds out about James being Head Boy stimulated many laughs, as did thinking about what Lily and James would have to go through when their plan was in motion.

None of them were too surprised to find Lily and James getting along swimmingly when they got back from the meeting. Peter and Sirius paid close attention to Lily for the rest of the train ride, and were pleased to see that Alice and Remus had been right. Lily fancied James—it was written all across her face.

Seventh year was definitely going to begin with a bang.

* * *

_A/N: Told you it was short. Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. You should know… reviews motivate me. Hint, hint. I promise to get the next chapter up quicker than I did this one!_

_Love always,_

_Livelier_


	3. Missteps

A/N: Enjoy and R&R! Disclaimer: I only own my limited creativity. JKR is the genius behind the Harry Potter books. (Sorry, Kinz )

Chapter 3: Missteps

"James Potter, move your ruddy feet! They are in my space!" I commanded shrilly. He had his feet propped up on the arm of the chair I was sitting in by the fire in the Gryffindor common room. Granted, he was there first, but he didn't even move an inch when I sat down! Honestly, it's like the boy has no manners at all!

James exchanged a glance with Remus, who was sitting on the sofa with Sirius across from him, then looked at his feet, and took them slowly off of the arm.

"Thank you."

James rolled his eyes, so I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Oh, that was mature, Lils," Alice said as she bounced into the room, and squeezed herself onto the couch between Sirius and Remus. Emmeline followed, and perched hesitantly on the arm of the sofa next to Remus.

"Hey, guys!" she greeted them brightly. "Don't you have to go patrol now?" she asked intently, turning to James and me.

"That's right!" I exclaimed, jumping up from my seat. "Ready, James?"

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"What, do you prefer _Potter_? Either one works for me. So it's your choice."

James grinned, and hopped up. "Nah, James is good with me."

I thought so.

James led the way out of the room. I could feel our friends' eyes on the back of my head, and I was sure that as soon as the portrait hole closed behind us, they would start talking.

I frowned to myself, wondering what they were talking about. Undoubtedly, I thought, it would be about my…feelings towards James. Which were are nonexistent. I swear.

"You wanna start in the dungeons or the Astronomy Tower?" James asked, startling me out of my thoughts.

"Er, let's start in the Astronomy tower," I suggested. More people would be there doing Merlin knows what later, but the Slytherins would also be out later, and honestly, which is more important? A bunch of snogging couples out past their curfew, or potential Death Eaters torturing little first years in deserted hallways?

"Good idea." The expression on his face told me he was thinking along the same lines as I was.

We started climbing the many flights of stairs to the Astronomy Tower in silence, checking each corridor we landed on as we ascended them.

Okay, now there's really no excuse for what happened next, but, hey, it's not my fault! I was _not_ too busy staring at the muscles in James's arm flexing as he scaled the steps two-at-a-time, nor was I fighting the urge to reach up and run my fingers though that unruly black hair of his. I'm Lily Evans I do not fantasize about James Potter, for God's sake! I was merely observing the beautiful, intricate woodwork of the railing.

While I was ogling the "railing", the trick step that was coming up must've slipped my mind, because as soon as my toe touched that stupid step, I sank through the staircase with a loud shriek.

James spun around and spotted me a few steps below him. At first, I thought he might laugh at me judging by the slight twitching of his lips or leave me there, but being the gentleman that he is, he bounded down those few steps and crouched down to my level.

"Need some help?" he asked. His voice was strained, and his lips pursed to keep himself from laughing.

"Yes, please."

Chest-deep in wood that should be brittle and unyielding, I struggled to get my arms above the surface so James could grasp them and pull me out. After a few moments, I was able to get one arm out.

I should have known that wouldn't be enough for him.

No. Instead, James placed his hands under my armpits, and heaved me out like a little child. Like the first time he touched me, I felt my heart rate jump and speed up, and a tingle shoot through my skin.

I didn't know hate could run so deep.

James pulled me to a standing position on the next step up, but he didn't keep hold of me like I expected him to Merlin knows he would have done that and more last year. He just let me go and turned away to begin climbing up to the Astronomy tower again.

I didn't follow. I just stood there, dumbstruck and wide-eyed like a little toddler who'd just had their lollipop taken away from them.

"You look like you've just been Stunned," James observed with a secretive little smirk. "Are you coming?"

I nodded my head, but didn't move. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"You know, most testosterone-driven boys would have used that…situation to their advantage," I pointed out, cocking my head slightly. _Normally you would have, too,_ I added silently.

He seemed to sense my thoughts; his eyes twinkled mischievously. "I'm not most testosterone-driven boys."

"I know," I answered automatically.

He chuckled slightly and then started up the steps again, more slowly this time. At the top of the landing it seemed like it had taken us hours to get up those steps rather than just a few minutes he turned around and smiled at me.

"You know, most hormone-driven teenage girls would use that situation to their advantage, as well," he informed me, wearing that stupid little smirk again.

"Oh? And why would they do that?"

His grin got more pronounced. "Just because I'm so irresistibly snoggable that way," he announced proudly, puffing his chest out, and putting a hand over his heart.

I suppressed the urge to slap him. "I am _definitely_ not most hormone-driven teenage girls!"

He laughed again, and the sound bounced off the walls of the corridor we were walking down. "Oh, I know," he said with a wink.

Bloody wanker.

* * *

_A/N: Once again, a fairly short chapter, but I think it was important. It kind of gives us a look into James and Lily's relationship. Don't worry; it won't stay like this for too long. I promise the next chapter will be longer, and if not, that will be the last short one. The first few are just kind of developmental. _

_I'm probably boring you to death. Thanks for reading!!! R&R, please! I really loved reading the reviews I got on the last chapter. Though there were only a few, they put a huge smile on my face. _

Thank you!!

~Livelier~


	4. Sevenyearolds

_A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks to everyone who favorited, subbed, or reviewed the last chapter! It always makes me smile like I'm high off of Laughing Gas when I check my email and I see all of those emails from . Anyway, this chapter is slightly longer than the rest, but I solemnly swear that they will get longer. I hope you enjoy this one. I had a fun time writing it, and it makes me laugh. Hopefully it'll make you laugh, too. R&R! Thanks!_

_Disclaimer: I think everyone knows by now that I'm not JK Rowling, I do not own any part of the Harry Potter franchise, and I am definitely not as famous or rich as either of them. Okedoke. Moving on…_

* * *

Chapter 4: Seven-year-olds

"Well, now that they're gone…" Sirius sighed flopping back onto the sofa and sprawling out across it. Everybody relaxed, and shifted to a more comfortable position.

"You say that every time they leave the room, Black," Alice pointed out. The others nodded and _mmhm_ed their agreement.

"But it's true! It's always so stiff and tense when they're here. If Lily wasn't so stupidly oblivious to her own emotions, we wouldn't even be in this situation!" Sirius protested, but he regretted his words as soon as they were out of his mouth. _Whoops._

Someone gasped, and Remus butted in hurriedly in an attempt to cover for Sirius's mistake. "What Padfoot is trying to say is that--" he started but was quickly cut across by an irritated Emmeline.

"Oh no, I know what Black was trying to say," she snarled at Remus, and then whirled around to jab a finger at Sirius's chest. "If this is anyone's fault it's _your_ dumbass best friend. He's spent the last six years basically screwing himself over, and if you think that it's warmed Lily to him, you're dead wrong!"

"How the hell did he screw himself over? Lily was always the one to provoke the fights! She hexed him first! What was he supposed to do? Sit there and take it?" Emmeline and Sirius were both on their feet by now, noses only inches apart. Their loud voices were starting to attract onlookers, and several people had clustered around to watch the fight.

"Yes! He should have taken it like the man we all know he isn't! And he should not have hung her best friend upside down from a Goddamn tree! We all know that you enjoy seeing Snivelly's ass, but we don't! Oh, and _maybe_ he shouldn't have spent every minute of every day following her around like a lost puppy, showering her with unwanted attention and proposals! Who would want to be married at the ripe age of 14?" Em asked angrily. "Sure as hell not Lily!"

"Well--" Sirius spluttered, at a loss for an answer to her question. "There was no way Prongs could have known that! The girl was giving him mixed signals, dammit!"

"Oh, right, I forgot that flipping him off wasn't clear enough! Or charming all his clothes to be pink," Em said scathingly. "You're right, that's totally unclear. Hey, back me up on this one, Alice."

Alice, who was sitting quietly with Remus and Peter watching the argument unfold with an amused expression on her face, smiled and shrugged. "Oh, I dunno, Em. I'm actually kind of enjoying you two fight like seven-year-olds. Aren't you, Remus?"

"Oh yes. It might even be more entertaining than Lily and James's fights. They're much more…in-depth. What do you think Peter?" Remus asked, turning to his friend, and smiling in encouragement.

"Yes, yes," he squeaked, laughing nervously, "absolutely enthralling."

Em threw her hands up in frustration. "Oh, well thanks for your support. Some friend you are."

Alice sighed, and got up to walk over to her friend and put an arm around her. "I'm sorry, Em, it's just that how can I possibly take sides when you are both right?"

"Both?" Sirius and Emmeline said in unison.

"Yes, both. You see, Sirius was right in that fact that she is entirely blind to her own feelings, and you were right when you said James had screwed himself over the past few years. Get it?" Alice said in a calm, reassuring tone of voice.

Em glanced sideways at Sirius, and grimaced. "I guess."

"Good. So there's nothing to fight about, right?"

"I guess," Sirius grumbled.

Alice clapped her hands together happily. "Oh, lovely! Now we can get on to the good stuff. Remus, you looked up the spell right?"

Remus nodded enthusiastically, and pulled a thick, dusty book from his bag by the couch. He dropped it onto the table, and a cloud of dust filled the air. "Sorry about that," he said, waving the cloud away. Then he flipped to a page that had previously been book marked, and cleared his throat.

"_When used properly," _Remus read, "_this spell will bind two people of any age and gender by the hip, indivisibly. Only when two weeks have passed or the joined couple learns something new about themselves will the spell will break._"

Remus closed the book and looked at each of the people in the small circle in turn. "I think it could work," he told them. There was a collective sigh of relief, and anticipation. "_But_ " he began before they could get too excited, and they all groaned in response, "it is a…difficult spell to perform, and it might take quite a bit of practice. And unfortunately, we have no one to practice it _on_."

After a few minutes of puzzled silence, Peter piped up, "How bout we use the Room of Requirement? It'll supply us anything we want, right?"

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Not humans, Pete."

"We could use mannequins, couldn't we, Remus?" Emmeline asked, glaring at Sirius for his response to Peter's comment. "But I definitely think we could use the Room of Requirement. That was a good idea, Peter."

Peter beamed at Em, thankful for her praise. Sirius just narrowed his eyes at her.

"I think that might work…" Remus answered slowly, nodding his head with each word he said. "I mean, it the spell never specified what kind of people."

Alice nodded her head enthusiastically. "I think we should try it. There's nothing to lose, right?"

Everyone agreed.

"Okay, so we should meet at this same time every night in the Room of Requirement, while James and Lily are out patrolling. Is that alright?" Alice asked.

"Definitely!" Emmeline agreed, clapping her hands together, and bobbing her head up and down.

"Sure, that's fine," Sirius muttered, still staring daggers at Em, who was seemingly oblivious to him now.

"Great," Peter chimed in.

"So…it's all set," Remus concluded. "We'll figure out more of the details later, like, when are we going to do it, how are we going to do it oh, shut up, Padfoot! None of us want to hear about your perverted little boy fantasies."

"You would know," Sirius shot back, wearing a huge grin. Remus shoved him, and looked down, blushing.

Alice checked her watch, and groaned loudly. "Ugh, that took less time than I thought it would. We still have a little more than a half hour before Lil and James get back."

"No, they should have been _back_ a half hour ago!" Sirius argued. "James knows all the secret passageways and shortcuts, so it should only take about an hour to do the entire castle."

"Where could they be?" Emmeline mused out loud, too preoccupied in her own thoughts to notice Sirius reach into his pocket and pull something out for just a split second, and then shove it back into his pant pocket.

"They're probably snogging passionately in some cramped broom cupboard," Sirius offered with a sly, secretive grin.

Four pillows hit him in the face simultaneously.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It was just a joke!" he cried, covering his face with his arms.

But he really wasn't.

What else could a boy and a girl be doing when the Map shows them inside a tiny, full broom closet?

_A/N: Ooooooooh! There's a little bit of a hanger right there. Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to know what happens next, add me to your alerts! If you didn't enjoy it, or you want to give me some advice, or you just want to say you liked it, leave me a review! I love those… Thanks again! _


	5. Intricate Affairs

_A/n: Okay, I'm gonna try to keep this as short as possible. This is a pretty short chapter, so sorry about that. And I'm really behind on this right now, because I've been crazy busy the last few weeks. So, again, sorry! __I hope you like this though! Next week, I hope to be caught up, but don't hold me to it. R&R!_ Chapter 5: Intricate Affairs

I would by lying if I said that I had no idea how we ended up crammed in this tiny, stuffy broom cupboard. It may or may not involve a Marauder-worshiping first year, a box of famous Honeyduke's truffles with raspberry-flavored chocolate! and one hair-ruffling bastard, but at the moment, I honestly do not care whether or not I'm telling the truth. In fact, I feel just jolly and content to say that I'm thoroughly enjoying myself, and absolutely not screaming the aforementioned hair-ruffling bastard's ear off. Just jolly, indeed.

But everyone knows I'm a terrible liar. Even the red-faced, hair-ruffling bastard standing about 0.8765 millimeters away from me knows that. And so the truth comes out.

"I cannot _believe_ you!" I screamed, my voice cracking a little bit due to its extreme pitch. "I thought we were friends and you were over this ridiculous 'I love, Lily' stage! Urgh! You son of a "

"Merlin, Lily! Would you let me get just a few damn words in edgewise?" James shouted back. It took me off guard for a moment, because James never yelled back at me. Never. Usually he would just stand there all glum like, or grinning up at me because he knew he did something wrong and he was either ashamed or beyond proud of himself. This time he was just angry.

"No! You lost that right when you paid that obsessed little fan girl to plant my favorite candy in an open broom closet, and then lock me in here when I ran in to get it!" I'm pretty sure some part of my mind registered how ridiculous this sounded, but the more logical, sane part resisted it like Voldemort resists Muggle-borns.

I guess James realized that too, because now he's looking at me like I'm a total loon who has just escaped from Saint Mungo's psyche ward. "That's ridiculous, you know."

Shut up, you arse. Your face is ridiculous.

"These doors can't even be locked from the inside!" he protested, throwing his hands in the air. And he thinks I'm thick?

"That's what these little sticks of wood are for, genius! Contrary to popular belief, they are not generally used just to poke people's eyes out," I reminded him, crossing my arms over my chest, my expression smug.

"Well if you know how to use them so well, why don't you get us out of this hell hole?" he demanded, mirroring my stance.

But for all his smugness, I didn't yet feel the urge to smack that smile off of his face. This kind of struck me as odd since I did that all the time over the past few years, just because I wanted to.

"No, you do it. If I'm not skilled enough to use my wand, maybe you should show me the proper way to use it. I mean, surely you wouldn't want me to blow up this little cupboard. I might ruin your hair."

"That might be possible, but since I don't have my wand, I think you'll have to do it," he replied, and for the first time, his voice sounded less than confident.

I seized the opportunity, and took advantage of that. "And why would that be?" I asked, a cruel smile spreading slowly across my lips. I wondered fleetingly if I resembled the devil with my red hair.

"I, er, left it…in the dorm," he answered, his eyes darting every which way, and tugging on his hair nervously with his right hand.

Let him squirm. "Well that was truly…_stupid_, don't you think? Why in Merlin's name would you leave your wand in your dorm when we were going to _patrol_? Really, Potter, I thought you were supposed to be somewhat smart. Didn't your parents ever teach you about wizard safety?"

His eyes sparked, and he dropped his hand from his hair. For a second, with the shadows flitting across his face, I thought he looked truly menacing, but by the time I blinked, it was gone. James turned away from me a feat considering how close we were crammed together but I saw his hands ball up into fists by his side.

"Just open the damn door, Evans," James ordered in a cold, unfriendly voice that was not his own, and I knew I had gone too far. But I did as I was told, and followed him out into the empty corridor.

We finished our patrols in silence, and returned to the Gryffindor tower. Our mates weren't waiting for us like I had expected them to be, and when I turned to ask James where he thought they were, he was no longer there. I whirled around, and spotted him climbing the stairs two at a time, heading to his dorm.

Now it may have been my imagination, but I could have sworn I heard a very soft sniffle come from that direction, and see him raise his hands to brush tears from his face so swiftly I couldn't even be sure I saw it. It was very late, after all.

Feeling confused, hurt, and a little frightened, I headed up to my dorm. I had to be quiet since the girls were asleep, so changing into my pajamas proved to be a very difficult task and it resulted in a few bruises. At last I was able to climb into my warm, comfortable bed.

* * *

I awoke with a start to find myself sweating profusely, and the sheets twisted around my legs. My breathing was labored and heavy as I glanced nervously around the room. As soon as I realized that Voldemort was not torturing helpless men and women in my closet, I fell back onto my bed with a huff.

I tried closing my eyes, adjusting my pillow, counting unicorns, and picturing myself floating on a cloud, but the memory of Voldemort's red snake-like eyes couldn't be erased. I finally decided that there was no way I would be able to sleep after that, and pushed the covers back.

Pushing my hair away from my face, I stuffed my feet into slippers, and shoved my arms through the sleeves of my robe, wrapping it around myself. As quietly as possible, I slipped out of the room, careful to avoid the creaky spots in the floor, and headed down the stairs.

When I reached the common room, my eyes flickered instinctively to the boys' dormitories, and something caught my eye.

_*I probably don't deserve it, but a review would be awesome! Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!*_


	6. Feminine Men

_A/N: I guess it's been a long time coming, but I finally got this chapter done and up. Sorry for the wait, guys! It's about the same length as my other chapters, so fairly short in other words, but it's an important one. I hope you enjoy it! Sorry again for the extended wait. _

* * *

Chapter 6: Feminine Men

He was crying again, James was. Well, they all were. When one Marauder cries, they all start weeping hysterically. And this time was no different.

Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James were all huddled together around James's bed, sniffling, and wiping traitor tears from their eyes. "So much for being men," Sirius grumbled, smiling a little and rubbing the sleeve of his shirt over his face.

Remus chuckled, and stood, clapping his hand on his best mate's back. "How can one be strong, without having the ability to shed his problems in the form of tears?" he asked wisely. Three pairs of eyes stared back at him, clearly not believing he had just said that.

"Can you try not to be such a _woman_, Moony? I would like to keep my testosterone level where it is, thank you," Sirius complained, shaking his head. He peeked sideways at James, but it appeared that his attempt to make him smile had been a vain one.

"Honestly, Padfoot, what do you expect from a bloke who reads cheesy romance novels?" Peter pointed out. While Sirius tried desperately to smother his laugh, Remus glared at them both, jerking his head to the left where James still sat, head down and shoulders slumped.

Sirius and Peter finally realized that Remus's frantic gesturing was not just a reaction he got when he was offended. They immediately clamped their mouths shut that is, after Sirius mouthed some of his choicest swear words. He moved to put his arm around James. "I'm sorry, mate. I know you miss them. We all do," Sirius sympathized.

James nodded solemnly, and just as it got silent in the room, they all heard a gasp from somewhere outside of the door. Then the boys heard something similar to the sound of a head knocking into a wall, and a quiet groan.

Defense mode kicked in and all four boys drew their wands and slowly made their way toward the door, with James at the lead and Sirius following closely behind. Peter cowered behind Remus in the very back, hesitant to come any closer. The door creaked ominously as James pulled in open

"Lily?"

Sure enough, Lily was huddled on the ground in front of the door, holding her hand to her head in pain. She looked up suddenly, and James noticed that she looked a mess. Her hair was tangled and wild, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes. She looked tired. And now, terrified.

"Were you eavesdropping, Evans?" Sirius demanded, intent on giving her a hard time.

Lily scoffed. "Pssh. _No._ Why would you think that? That's…that is completely bullocks. _I_ do _not_ eavesdrop!" she lied unconvincingly.

"Right. Sure," James agreed, although he was shaking his head in doubt.

Lily pushed her hair back, and stood up, sticking her chin in the air defiantly. "Fine. Don't believe me. What do I care? I guess you're just going to have to live with yourself for the rest of your life…" she said dramatically, sweeping down the hall away from the dorm. Before she could get too far, James reached out and grabbed her wrist, and pulled her back to them.

Remus and Sirius exchanged a glance and a knowing smirk.

Standing in front of them again with James at her side, Lily addressed Sirius. "Er, Black, could you _not_ point that at my face. I'd rather like to keep my eyebrows the way they are, thanks."

Sirius chuckled and lowered his wand. Remus and Peter followed suit.

James turned on Lily. "Now, you have some explaining to do," he said sternly, raising his eyebrows. She sighed and followed him into the dorm, closing the door on the other boys.

* * *

"So that's it," James finished, clapping his hands together and pursing his lips, trying desperately not to cry. _Not in front of Lily_, he thought, _please not in front of her!_ But his eyes still pricked at the thought.

Lily was beyond disbelief. "_He_ has your parents?" she asked quietly, feeling as if the world had joined forces against her. "Voldemort has your parents?"

And then she burst into tears.

Bewildered, and at a loss, James scooted over to her and rubbed her back awkwardly. "Er, Lily, you don't have to cry… please don't cry. I don't know "

He broke off in shock when she threw her arms around him. "Oh Merlin, James, I'm so sorry!" she wailed loudly. "I'm such a horrible person!"

James rolled his eyes. "Rubbish! You're the complete opposite. Sure you have some bad days," he consoled, "but you're kind, patient well, not with me, but that's besides the point beautiful, and completely brilliant. Merlin knows you can whip up a mean Polyjuice Potion, and could probably kick everyone's arses except for mine, of course in Defense."

Lily looked up at him, tears sparkling in her wide eyes. "Are you sure?" she sniffed. Her bottle green eyes were mesmerizing, and it seemed as if James had turned into pudding.

"Positive," he replied, his entire face more tender than she had ever seen it. Her eyelashes fluttered, and for a second James wondered what would happen if he leaned in just a bit further…

Almost abruptly Lily lowered her head to his shoulder, and let her eyes slip closed. She entwined her arms with his and snuggled a little closer, which seemed almost impossible at the time. For what seemed like the millionth time, the butterflies in stomach seemed to turn into bats.

James sighed and rested his cheek against her hair, breathing in the scent of it. Within just a few minutes her breath had evened out and deepened. He sighed, settling in for a very long night.

* * *

Sirius, Remus, and Peter, hidden under the Invisibility Cloak, pushed open the door and tiptoed into the room. When they noticed Lily and James snuggled up on the bed, they all did a double take.

"Aw, look how cute they are!" Peter cooed. Sirius and Remus both gave him a look, and he immediately straightened up and cleared his throat. "I mean way to go, Prongs! Get some!" he said in an unnaturally deep voice. Sirius smacked him upside the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Shut up, Pete," Remus advised. "Ow!"

Sirius placed a finger to his lips, and pointed to James and Lily. "Moony, do the spell!" he commanded in a harsh whisper.

Remus gave him a blank stare. "Are you out of your bloody mind? We haven't even practiced it yet! I told you about the spell five hours ago!" he exclaimed, once again earning a smack from Sirius. "Would you stop hitting me?"

Sirius glared at Remus. "Dammit, Moony! When are we ever going to get another chance like this? We won't!"

"But, Padfoot, the side-effects " Remus began.

"So what if they end up with blue skin? They'll blame me like they always do!"

Remus held up a finger. "Actually, their skin wouldn't turn blue, it would just meld "

"Now is not the time for your nerdyness, Moony. Either perform the damn spell, or I will," he threatened, reaching to his back pocket to pull out his wand.

"No!" Remus nearly shouted, pulling out his wand hastily. "Please, let me do this. I insist." Remus crept closer to James and Lily, still under the invisibility cloak, and pointed his wand at their adjacent hips and muttered a complicated incantation.

Sirius, Peter, and Remus watched, agape, as a soft blue light glowed between Lily and James, and then dimmed until it faded away.

"Whoa."

* * *

_Thanks for reading! I hope you liked it. Even though I probably don't deserve it, I would love it if you could leave me a review! Thanks again!_

_~Livelier~_


	7. Waking Up

_A/N: I'm trying to make up for all the weekends I didn't update, so I decided to write this chapter and post it this weekend, instead of waiting until next week. So now I'm only one week behind instead of two! I tried to make this chapter a bit longer than the rest, and I think it worked out well. I'm hoping you guys like this chapter. It's very important in the story, so please take some time to read it! As for the last chapter, thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, subscribed, or favorited. I really enjoyed reading the reviews, though there were only four of them. Thanks again! R&R!_ Chapter 7: Waking Up

The first thought that came to mind when I awoke was that I was sleeping on one very comfortable pillow. It wasn't particularly squashy like I prefer my pillows, but there was something about the way it sort of fit itself to the shape of my head, which was uncommon considering I have an unusually large, egg-shaped head.

My second, more coherent thought was that pillows didn't normally smell like men's cologne. Mmm and what a delicious smell it was. It seemed familiar to me for some reason, like I had smelled it many times before somewhere I was often, or someone who I was with a lot, like…the Marauders.

My eyes shot open, and took in my surroundings in record time. This room was not mine. My room was clean, and I would rather be _Avada Kedavra_d than have my boxers hanging from my bedposts. Wait a second…since when do I wear Snitch emblazoned boxers?

I screamed I guess it was more like a strangled cry and tried to stand up…and then something hot and heavy pinned me to the bed. That hot and heavy thing happened to have a messy head of black hair, smell delicious, and round wire-rimmed glasses.

James Potter.

I tried to give his shoulder a hard shove, but besides a little rolling of the head, he didn't budge. Stupid wanker. "James," I wheezed, my supply of oxygen quickly depleting. "Potter, get…off of me! I cant breathe!"

When he did nothing, I began beating him with my fist. His snores faltered for a second and then returned to its normal pattern. Finally I came to my senses, and with the arm that wasn't wedged between my body and his, I reached over to the nearest nightstand and fumbled around for a stick of wood. My fingers grasped something cylindrical, hard, and long, so I grabbed the wand and pointed it at James's face.

"_Aguamenti!"_

Okay, so maybe this wasn't the smartest thing, and maybe I should have paid more attention to Ollivander when he was rambling about how "the wand chooses the wizard", but honestly, at the time I wasn't exactly thinking about the consequences of my actions.

Consequences be damned.

Well, that didn't go over so well. Instead of a stream of water shooting out the end of the end, a jet of fabric shot out of the tip of the foreign wand and wrapped itself around James's neck. I suppose that if my intention was to wake him up, it sure did the trick.

James bolted upright, dragging me with him, and his hands flew to his neck to try to get the fabric to release its chokehold. Gagging, James pointed toward the evil wand with one hand while trying to fight off the fabric with the other. "Lily the wand!" he managed, holding his hand out.

I grabbed The Wand and forced it into his waiting hand. He pointed it at his neck and muttered, "_Diffindo!_" The fabric fell away, and James inhaled a huge breath of air. Then he turned on me with accusatory eyes, and demanded, "What the bloody _hell_ was that for?"

"I'm so sorry, James!" I cried. "I didn't mean to, I swear! I was just trying to wake you up because you were crushing me, and I could move you "

"Oh, so it's my fault, is it?" he asked, anger glaring in his eyes.

"No, of course not! I just was trying to wake you up, and I reached for a wand to spray you with water but it didn't work, because that stupid bloody wand was being stupid and…bloody, and "

"Lily, would you shut up now? I get it, okay?" James interrupted, placing a finger on my lips. His fingers were soft, but still rough from Quidditch, and I found myself leaning in towards him. He quickly removed his hand."I'm sorry I…flipped out on you. I know you didn't mean to choke me."

Blushing for unknown reasons, I ducked my head and nodded. I struggled for a few moments on what to say should I apologize too, or should I just get up and leave and pretend like everything was normal and peachy? I finally settled with the latter option.

I turned my head toward James, and smiled. "Well, I should probably get going now!" I said in a falsely cheery voice. "I'll see you later for patrols!"

"Er, Lily, I hate to burst your bubble but we don't patrol on Saturdays…" James corrected me.

I blushed again, embarrassed. "Oh. Right. I knew that… Well, bye!" I tried to stand up but James's much heavier body prevented me from getting upright. James gave me a little push to help, but subsequently, his force pushed him off the bed as well.

Clumsy and off-balance, James promptly fell flat on his face, taking me with him. We landed on the floor with a little thud. It would have been funny if it had been anyone else. I huffed and blew my hair out of my face. "James, this is absolutely ridiculous! Just let me leave already!"

"Oh, of course you blame this on me. Why can't you just accept the fact that you're clumsy and have no sense of balance?" James shot back.

I made a sound of disbelief. "I'll have you know I took ballet for seven years before I came to Hogwarts!"

"What the hell is ballet? It sounds like some sort of a disease. You can't be very proud of that," he replied.

"It's an art!" I yelled at him, offended.

"Not a very good one, since I've never heard of it."

"That's just because you're _stupid!_ I bet anyone else would know what it is!"

James raised his eyebrows questioningly. "Is that a challenge, Evans?"

"Yes, _Potter_, it is," I answered, forcing myself to retreat to the use of his surname. "So you can go summon your little boy toys, and watch as I prove that you are as thick as you look!"

"They are not my boy toys! They're my best mates!" James denied vehemently, shaking his head, looking disgusted.

"Oh, so that's what they're calling four blokes that sleep in the same room and have adorable little pet names for each other now? I had no idea."

James glared balefully at me. "First off, they are not pet names because we are not pets," he corrected. "Second, they are not adorable."

I smirked at him. "Oh I'll agree with that."

His eyes narrowed even further to the point where they were nothing but slits. He pointed his wand at his throat, and with a magically magnified voice, said, "Marauders meeting in our dorm. Now."

"Aw," I cooed, "you even have your own way to get a hold of each other."

"Shut up, Evans," he nearly growled at me. His words cut me, but I tried to force my hurt feelings back and focus. Still, the hatred in his face burned at the back of my mind.

Soon enough, Sirius, Remus, and Peter stumbled through the door. They all stopped when the caught sight of us on the floor, glaring furiously at each other. Sirius and Remus exchanged a worried glance, like something had not turned out the way they planned…

And then it clicked.

It must have made sense to James too, because at the same moment, we turned our glares on Sirius and shouted, "BLACK!"

Sirius took an involuntary step back, and held up his hands innocently. "Hey, now. It was just me…Moony did it too!"

Remus turned on Sirius and threw his hands in the air. "Thanks, Padfoot. So much for being in this together!"

James and I looked at each other and nodded, sensing the other's thoughts. James struggled to his feet, pulling me up with him, and summoned my wand. I caught it neatly in my hand. "Thanks."

He nodded and then glared at Sirius and Remus. Suddenly, random objects appeared next to us, floating in the air. "Oppugno!" we said together and the books, hangers, watches, and robes flew toward the other Marauders.

Yelling, pleading, and cursing ensued as we chased the boys out of the dorm, down the stairs and into the common room. Then we resorted to manual force, and began hurling books, lamps, and other hard objects at them.

"You stupid bastards!" I yelled while flinging anything I could my hands on at them. Most of my throws were pretty inaccurate, but once in a while I heard thuds and I knew I had made contact with someone most likely Peter. Sirius was harder to hit because he was so used to flying objects hurtling towards him from Quidditch, so James had focused on him, leaving me to deal with Peter and Remus. Which was fine by me.

"Lily!" I heard someone cry. Alice had frozen on the top step of the stairs to the girls' dorm when she had caught sight of the pandemonium. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" I yelled back. "I'm doing target practice! It's kind of fun, actually. You should try it!"

"No, I meant, why are doing that?" She began making her way toward me carefully, dodging flying items.

"Because! They stuck James and I together!"

Alice froze, and turned, wide-eyed, to Remus and Sirius. "You did the spell without us?"

Us? Us. Oh that girl was going to die.

_There you have it. Thanks for reading! If you feel like leaving me a comment you can either click the little review button down there, or send me a PM. Thanks!_


	8. That's What's Up

Chapter 8:

A/N: Okay, so I'm very sorry, but this chapter is one of the shortest I have written for a multi-chaptered fic…ever. It's also slightly on the silly side. I wrote the latter half after hanging out with one of my friends all day, and we were singing along to Don't Stop Believin', Dancing Queen, and Girls Just Wanna Have Fun at the top of our lungs. We're girls, we're teenagers…it's what we do! We also had two snow cones, and a few cookies… It was just one of those days. So, I hope everyone is enjoying their summer, and I hope that you're not too bummed about the length of this chapter. I know I am. Still, I would love it if you could review! That would be pretty awesome. Also, a huge thanks goes out to everyone who read the last chapter or two! You guys are pretty sweet. R&R! Enjoy!

Chapter 8: That's What's Up

Sirius and Remus both cringed visibly. "Er, Alice, maybe that wasn't the best idea…" Remus pointed out wisely, grimacing.

But Alice didn't have time to respond. "You planned this?" she screeched loudly, jabbing a finger at Alice. "You _planned_ to glue us together?"

"Oh please, Lils," Emmeline said, oblivious to the tension as she skipped down the stairs to join Alice. "Don't flatter her. It was Sirius's idea."

Sirius threw his hands in the air, and looked around at his friends. "Really, Em, really? See, Moony, this was exactly what I was talking about! Everyone always blames me! It's not bloody fair! You know, everything isn't always my fault."

Em and Alice both rolled their eyes. "Oh, so you're saying that the toilets in the Prefects' loo just blew up all by themselves? And I guess it wasn't you that charmed all the girls' skirts to fly up, right?" Emmeline asked, raising her eyebrows.

Sirius grinned at the last one, proud of what he had done. "Well, I don't really want to take credit for those _brilliant_ pranks, but who else is genius enough to even think of it? You know it wasn't Peter."

"Hey! I'm standing right here, Padfoot!" Peter protested shrilly. Sirius just waved him off with a shrug.

"That's not the point!" Lily yelled, waving her hands in the air not smart, considering that she was holding her wand in her hand accidentally hitting James in the face. When she had captured everyone's attention, she dropped her arms. "How could you guys do this to us?" she asked, a trace of hurt coloring her voice.

Sirius shifted his gaze around uncomfortably, scratching his head absently; he didn't really deal with crying, emotional girls very well. The last time a girl cried because he would snog her, Sirius shoved her into an empty classroom and charmed the door shut and cast Snivelly's muffling spell over it might as well use the boy's slimy brains for something. Needless to say, he was quite relieved when Alice approached Lily and placed a comforting hand on her arm.

"It's for your own good, Lils," Alice assured her gently. Em nodded enthusiastically at Lily, barely concealing her own grin. "You'll thank us in the end."

Finally, something seemed to click for James and he shot Sirius a questioning glance. James would have loved to confront Sirius about his idea, but for obvious reasons, he could not just go up to him and say, "You stuck us together so we would snog and live happily ever after?" It just wouldn't work. Lily would probably first tackle Sirius, leaving James in a very uncomfortable position laying on either his best mate or Lily and then she would most likely proceed to beat the living daylights out of the unsuspecting bloke poor James was the only one who knew just how hard her fists actually were.

So James did the only thing he could possibly think of.

"Ouyay tucksay usay ogethertay osay eway ouldway nogsay ndaay ivelay appilyhay vereay fteraay?" James demanded. Everyone's heads turned toward James with expressions ranging from amused to absolutely baffled and everywhere in between. Even Sirius was looking a bit strangely at his best mate.

"Er, that's what's up?" Sirius said, unsure if his word choice was correct. James slapped the palm of his hand to his forehead.

Shaking his head, James muttered, "Oh dear Merlin, tell me it's not possible to be that incredibly thick."

"See!" Em exclaimed suddenly, jumping up. "It's not just me!"

"Would you all just shut it?" Lily cried, deciding to try to take control of the situation. "First of all Sirius, you are not some wannabe gangster, living in the Upper East Side. Is that clear?" Sirius said nothing; he just cocked his head to one side and mouthed the word _gangster_ a few times. "Second, James, it is not that hard to figure out what you said, and there will be no snogging nor any happily ever afters! Thirdly, would someone explain what the hell is going on?"

The group all exchanged weary glances for a few moments, trying to decide how to proceed. One thing was for sure though: they would do so with extreme caution. Finally, Alice took Lily's hand and led her to the nearest couch. Lily eyed it warily before reluctantly plopping down on it. Surprised by the sudden movement, James lost his balance and nearly fell on top of her. Again.

Lily smirked at him, and raised one eyebrow. For the first time that morning, James noticed she showed a trace of amusement, and he smiled back at her. He thought about bringing the whole "ballet" thing up again, but decided against it he didn't want to push her buttons just yet.

Alice clasped her hands together importantly, and crossed her legs. "Lily" James coughed pointedly "…and James, before you start in on us, we need you to know that we did this for your own good. I know I already said this, but you will thank me in the end.

"You see, Sirius came up with the idea to, er, 'glue' you two together, and then Remus doing what he does best took a little visit to the Restricted section, and found the spell we needed to perform," Alice explained, purposely leaving out their main goal. "We were _supposed_ to practice it beforehand in the Room of Requirement, but apparently Remus and Sirius thought better of that plan, and decided to do it shut up, Black while you two were sleeping last night…wait a second!"

Lily's eyes grew wide and she rushed to avoid potential embarrassment. "Alice Prewett, you are in no position to make demands here. Continue."

Alice glared, but nodded. "Long story short, it doesn't look like their irresponsible, selfish act did any lasting harm, and this should only last two weeks, _or_ until you both learn something vital about yourselves and each other. My suggestion would be to have a very long, strenuous session of Truth or Dare…possibly in a broom closet."

"Alice!" Lily snapped.

"Okay, scratch that. In James's dorm would be just fine!"

Lily sighed, and rested her face in her hands, seemingly accepting that what was done was done, and no spell or potion could possibly change that. James resisted the urge to reach out a pat her back, or whisper something comforting in her ear.

The room fell silent.

"What's a gangster?"

_Yeah…I know. Gangsters? Can you smell the hilarity coming up? It's going to be pretty epic, so be sure to check in for the next chapter. I promise it will be longer! Please, please leave me a review or a PM. I really love reading all the reviews and messages. They just make my day. Thanks!_


	9. Complications

_A/N: Hello! I'm going to cut right to the chase. Last week I got a lot of reviews and PMs saying that they wished my chapters were longer. I agree one hundred percent. So, in an attempt to please my lovely readers, and possibly gain more, I set a goal for myself of two thousand five hundred words. And I intend to keep that goal for the rest of the story. It surprised me though when I finally finished, because it's a lot more than it seems like at first. It takes up nearly eight pages in MS Word. But it is also my favorite chapter so far, and I think that has something to do with the length. What do you think? R&R please!_

* * *

Chapter 9: Complications

Being connected to someone is not fun. Especially if that someone is a person you prefer to avoid in the first place. But it's workable. Sure, James and I have to kind of waddle down the steps, half hopping and half falling down. And people aren't exactly _encouraging_ to say the least, particularly James's little fan girls. But this is pushing it.

This is ridiculous.

This is pushing all my boundaries, and personal morals. Not to mention the goals I set for myself the minute I laid eyes on James Potter. I would not be one of those girls that falls at his feet, and worships the ground he walks on.

"There is no bloody freaking way in Hell I am sleeping in the same bed as you, Potter," I said shortly, quickly laying down the law before he could get any ideas. "I don't care if we are attached at the hip or the mouth."

What in Merlin's name made me say that?

James raised his eyebrows and cocked his head. "Okay," he said slowly, drawing out the syllables. "Well…do you have any other suggestions? Because unless you can figure out how to sever our hips without causing any lasting damage, I'm not seeing another option."

"That's because you only see the things you want to see," I replied quickly. I immediately regretted it though when James's eyes roved my face with poorly disguised desire.

Oh dear God, where is a sock to stuff in my mouth when I need one?

After peeling his eyes away from me, James sighed and raked a hand through his already messy black hair. He stared out the window, while I studied him.

"How 'bout this," I offered softly, drawing his attention from the Quidditch pitch outside the window, "I'll sleep in this bed tonight, but since it's only noon right now, you can take a little cat nap in the library while I try to figure out some common spells to help us out. Is that alright?"

James considered it for a minute before grinning, seemingly pleased that I had made the effort to compromise with him. Then his face suddenly fell. "Er, Lils, there's only one slight problem with that…" He squirmed uncomfortably.

My eyes narrowed into a glare. "What. Did. You. Do?"

James grimaced. "You know how I'm not really known for studying? Well, it might be because Sirius and I, er, may have gotten banned from the library back in fourth year."

I crossed my arms over my chest and glared at him. But I couldn't keep it up long because of stupid make-me-want-to-melt-inside puppy-dog face. I dropped my arms and sighed. "You know what, James? I don't even want to know. I'm sure Madam Pince won't care as long as you're with me."

James rolled his eyes. "Of course. Because you're the perfect student, right?"

I hit him in the arm. "Shut up. It's not my fault teachers love me. It's just a god-given gift," I said with a smirk.

Laughing, James shook his head at me. "Come on. I've got training at 3 and I need a nap."

I grinned, and led him out of his dorm, since I doubted he remembered where the library was.

* * *

Merlin, he was adorable when he was asleep. His mouth was slightly agape, his hair even more tousled than normal, and soft snores coming from the back of his throat. I wanted to reach out and touch him…

Whoa, no. Stop right there, Lily. You do not want to touch him. You _strongly dislike_ him. People do not touch other people that they strongly dislike. It goes against nature.

I quickly shook the thoughts from my head and returned my attention to the charms book in front of me. Running my finger down the page, I looked for anything that would help us during the next two weeks; Merlin knew I was not changing in front of him, much less showering or using the loo. I almost shuddered just thinking about it.

I turned the page with a little more vigor than necessary honestly, if the stupid book would just tell me what I needed to know! and the top of the page ripped. I swore under my breath, and took out my wand to fix it. I mended the page quickly, then shut the book and pushed it to the side before retrieving another from the mile-high pile in front of me.

_Daily Body Cleansing Charms by Martha Appleby. _Well this looked promising. Maybe I should have started with this one. Sure enough, the first spell on the first page was one that would keep hair and body smelling and looking clean for up to ten days. I dipped my quill in ink, and wrote down the incantation and wand motion on my very meager list of helpful spells.

By the time I had flipped through about thirty pages, I had written down at least fifteen more useful charms, including one or two that could help me with my "monthly gift", and a few that got rid of the bathroom issue. All I needed now was a way to change without having to strip down in front of James.

I spread the remaining books out in front of me, and searched for one that had a title as promising as the last one. Finally, I found one. _Clothes Changing Charms by Scarlet McStalked. _I did a double take when I saw the name_. _McStalked? I really hoped she was just going by a false name.

In just a few short minutes, I had filled up the rest of the parchment and part of another sheet with spells and wand motions. I flicked my wand at the books, sending them all back to their original spots on shelves, and checked my watch. It was a quarter till three. Didn't James say he had to be down at the pitch by three for training?

"James!" I whispered loudly in his ear. "James, wake up. You have to go to practice. James!" He didn't budge. Hell, his snores didn't even falter for a second! Deciding to try a different approach, I smacked the back of his head. Nothing. Zip, zilch, nada.

An idea popped into my head, but my brain rejected it vehemently. Still, I saw no other option. Cringing to myself, I reached out with shaking fingers and stroked his face, trailing my fingers from his temple down to his jaw. A shock ran through my fingers, and I jerked them back. But it had worked.

James's eyes fluttered open, and he sat up straight in his chair, his hand going to his cheek in amazement, and his eyes going wide. I kept my eyes on the parchment. "It's a quarter till three," I told him, pretending to study the list of charms in front of me.

He nodded, but I could tell he was distracted. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

I bobbed my head up and down. "Yes, I did." I didn't know why I was acting so formal. Apparently James didn't either.

"Is something wrong, Lily?"

I finally looked at him. "Of course not! That's stupid. I'm surrounded by books! What could possibly be wrong?" Again, a sock would be really great right about now.

James smiled faintly, and shook his head. "Well, we should probably be off the training now. As the captain, I wouldn't be setting a very good example if I were to be late."

"We?"

He gave me a curious look. "Er, well we _are_ connected…"

I balked. Brooms and I…that's a big no-no. It's like mixing Voldemort and Dumbledore, or Sirius and McGonnagal. "Oh no. No, no no no no. I'm not going anywhere near there, and you can't make me."  
James raised his brow, and stood up, pulling me with him, as if to prove a point. Then he started to walk toward the double doors at the entrance to the library, ignoring my hushed protests. We were halfway to the pitch when James seemed to realize he needed his broom, and Quidditch robes. He quickly summoned them, and then turned to me, holding his robes limply in his hands.

I sighed, looked at my parchment, and pointed my wand at the pile of clothes in his hands. After saying a few unfamiliar words and performing the complex wand motion, James looked amazed when he saw the clothes he had been wearing previously appear in his open hands, and his Quidditch robes on his body.

"Thanks, Lils," he said, somewhat surprised at my handiwork.

"Your welcome," I grumbled back, still upset about the whole flying issue.

James stopped, and tried to turn to face me, forgetting that we were joined at the hip. "If it makes you feel any better, I guess I can just instruct from the ground for the next few days," he offered, looking pained to do so.

"You'd do that?" I asked.

He looked down, his face flushed. "I don't really have a choice. When Lily isn't happy, nobody is."

I grinned, and elbowed him playfully.

We entered the pitch, and his entire team turned to us. Those who hadn't seen us yet today eyed our joint bodies with shrewd speculation, and those who had enjoyed another bout of laughter. Two of those people were Sirius and Emmeline, who were nearly doubled over. I resisted the urge to hex them. So what if they were James and my best friends?

James, however, did not even attempt to resist. He whipped out his wand, and shot some unfamiliar spell at his best mate, causing his eyes to roll to the back of his head, and his tongue to hang out, while his body went rigid. Em stared at James, shocked and more than a little frightened that the same thing would happen to her. But I knew James wouldn't do such a thing to a girl; he was more noble than that.

Instead of chastising him like I was expected to, I nodded appreciatively. "I've never seen that curse before. You might have to teach that one to me."

James smirked, and then turned to his team. "Oi! Get in the air, you lazy dolts!" he commanded. His team immediately mounted their brooms and shot into the sky without a single complaint or cross word. He had them whipped.

"Very nice," I complimented. He beamed, like that was the best praise I could possibly give him.

After three hours, my legs were toast, my hair was tangled and messy from the cool autumn wind, and I had learned more about Quidditch than I could have ever dreamed of. Now, I was leaning into James, my eyelids drooping, and my stomach growling, as practice drew to a close. He had his arm wrapped around my waist to keep my on my feet. I had to admit; it felt very nice to have him supporting me. I felt like I could always count on him to be there.

James said his final words of encouragement, and then ordered the team to the locker rooms, saying they smelt like rubbish. He didn't even wait for them to disperse before tugging me quickly along to the castle. Sirius, fully restored to his natural state, walked along with us. I couldn't catch much of the conversation, but I could tell it was something about gangsters.

The last thing I remembered was James helping me into his bed, and pulling the covers over us.

I didn't know what time it was when I finally woke up. All I knew was that my stomach was contracted to the size of a walnut, and growling so loudly at me, it could have woken the entire Gryffindor tower, and the smell of delicious house elf-made food was wafting in my direction. I didn't think after that; I just inhaled the plate of breakfast I found on the nightstand by my head.

Three pancakes, two sausage links, four strips of bacon, one serving of hash browns, and a goblet of pumpkin juice later, I was laying happily in bed with my hands folded on top of my temporarily enlarged stomach, and a satisfied smile on my face. I settled into the warm bed…

Only when I turned my head did I realize that I was not the only body occupying the soft, plush bed. I screamed. Keep in mind, this was not some dainty, shrill little squeak. This was a full-blown ear splitting, blood-curling, gut-wrenching _scream_.

"Bloody hell!" James shouted, bolting upright.

A little tawny owl flew straight into the window and then dropped out of sight. Poor little guy.

"What are you doing in my bed?" I shrieked.

Realizing that was what this was about, James groaned and fell backwards, with his hands over his ears. "Look around you, Lily."

Reluctantly, I did what he said. Oh. So, I was in his bed. That still does not explain _why the hell I am in bed with James Potter!_ Oh Merlin, was I drunk? Did I do something I would later regret? I looked down. Nope, still fully dressed. Well, there's one positive thing about this morning.

"You coerced me into sleeping in the same bed as you. I know you did! You used your 'Potter Charm' on me! It's your fault!" I accused shrilly, jabbing a finger into his chest. Ouchie. Not going to do that again.

James closed his eyes, clearly tired of my methods already. He groaned again, as if to say 'it's too early'.

I was just about to bring up another valid argument, when Sirius burst through the door with a book open in his hands yes, an actual book and the most ridiculous outfit on.

Instead of his usual black robes, he was wearing extremely low-rise jeans if that's what you could call pants that were hanging off your butt that were much too long, pooling around the ankles, a hat turned sideways, and an over-sized graphic tee. But worst of all was the aluminum foil molded to his teeth in an attempt to have a grill.

Bloody freaking hell. Was anyone sane in this world anymore?

* * *

A/N: Thanks so much for reading! I hoped you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. Let me know what you think by clicking that little review button down there. I'm hoping to get up to fifty this week. Probably not going to make that, but it would be awesome if we did. The fiftieth reviewer might even get something special… I don't quite know yet. Thanks again, ladies (and gents, if you're out there!)

_Love always,_

_Livelier_


	10. New Man

Chapter 10: New Man

_A/N: Hello, lovelies! I'm so glad you guys liked the last chapter, and the length of it. I got a great response! So, thank you so much! This chapter is, again, extremely silly at parts. I went to the Twilight Saga: Eclipse midnight premiere last night…or I guess it would be this morning (it's Wednesday as I'm writing this, but it's some day on the weekend that I'm posting this), so I'm a little tired and more than a smidge hyper at the moment. As for the writing, I'm not a gangster, so as you can probably imagine, I had no clue what to say at times. I'm sorry about that. Also, I couldn't find a place to fit in some "yo mama" jokes in this chapter, so those will probably be in the next. Anyway, I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it. R&R please! Thanks!_

Chapter 10: New Man

"What's up my home dawgs?" Sirius asked, grinning like the maniac he is. "Whoa, Prongs, you work fast!" When he realized he was out of character, he quickly cleared his throat, and reached out to pound James's limp fist. "Sweet, man. Get some!" Sirius said, looking pointedly between us. It was then that I remembered we were sharing a bed.

I glared at him and ripped the covers off of us to show him that we were still fully clothed. Speaking of clothes… "What the hell do you think you're wearing?" James and I demanded at the same time.

"It's the bomb shiz, yo."

Oh dear God. Shoot me now. Wait, no, scratch that. A bullet might not kill me instantly. It could simply penetrate the flesh, and hit a bone, breaking it in three different places, and leaving me to bleed to death, writhing in agony. I wanted a guaranteed pain-free outing. _Avada Kedavra_ me now. That's definitely much better. It even sounded cooler.

"Are you on crack?" I asked flatly, staring directly at him. James smothered his laugh in a nearby pillow. He lifted his head, and shook it vigorously. "I think it's ecstasy he's addicted to, Lils," he corrected.

Sirius looked at us, bewildered beyond belief. "Crack? Ecstasy? What did I miss?" he cried, then a held up a finger to halt us, and began flipping pages at lightening fast speeds. "Aha!" He began reading from the mysterious book, "_Also called 'rock', crack is __pellet-sized pieces of highly purified cocaine, prepared with other ingredients for smoking, and known to be especially potent and addicting._"

Looking impressed with his ability to read a dictionary, James began applauding politely. I followed his lead, even going as far as adding a few whistles in there for good measure.  
"Wait, I'm not done!" He raised his finger higher in the air, and then dropped it to the page to track what he was reading. "And ecstasy is _a__ hallucinogen_whatever the hell that is _similar to LSD._"

Again, James and I golf-clapped quietly when he was finished. He took a few bows, and then turned serious again. No pun intended, I swear. My OWLS proved that I'm a little more complex-minded than that.

"No, seriously, dawg, what the hell is a" he checked the dictionary "hallucinogen?" Then he busted out laughing, slapping his knee, and looking a little like a bucking donkey that has non-functioning back legs. Seriously. "You see what I did there? Clever, eh?"

We stared blankly at him, wishing on my part anyway that Voldy would just bust through the door, point his bony, pointy finger at me, shout "Mudblood!" and zap me with that pretty green spell of his. But I wouldn't die. Why, you ask? Because James would scream my name, Sirius would react to his best mate's pain, jump in front of me, and get hit by the green light instead.

I shook my head. Honestly, what was happening to me? First, I wake up one day, attached to a bloke's bloody hip, then I end up stroking said bloke's face tenderly, sleeping with him not like that you perverts! and then waking up to find Sirius dressed like a freaking gang-banger slash pothead.

Sirius finally stopped bucking like a deformed donkey and straightened up. He pointed his finger at us, searching for a suitable word but not willing to turn to his trusty book to find it. He gave up, and just settled for saying, "you guys are no fun." Then he pouted.

I motioned toward his book. "Guys? That's not very gangsterish. Why don't you look something up?"

He shrugged, and dropped the book on the nearest bed. "Naw, I don't even know how to use it. There's a whole bunch of letters on the side, like those are supposed to help me find gangster words. Stupid dicktonary."

I nearly choked.

James began coughing violently, pounding his fist against his chest. Panicking, I reached over and hit his back with my open palm. He heaved forwards, narrowly avoiding toppling off the edge of the bed. Thankfully, Sirius caught him before he could fall completely off, and shot me a dirty look. I smiled sheepishly.

He coughed a few more times, but eventually regained his composure. Glaring at his best mate, James punched him in the arm. "It's called a dictionary, you stupid wanker!"

"And those letters…you know what? Nevermind," I backtracked, holding up my hands, deciding to let him figure it out by himself.

Sirius frowned at us. "Be that way. I'm gonna go find me some hot chicks." He gave James a pointed look. "Wanna come, Prongsie? You know how they get when…well, you know what I mean."

James looked at me, and I interpreted that as a request for permission.

"Hell no! I will not get stuck in some cramped little broom cupboard while you snog some swooning slag. No way!" I said, firmly crossing my arms over my chest, and turning my head away.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "'Snog some swooning slag'? You're not jealous are you, Evans, because to me it sure seems like that is the case."

I opened my mouth to protest, but James cut across me smoothly before I could get anything out. "I'm going to have to pass, Padfoot. But you, er, enjoy your 'hot chicks', okay?" he denied, and I thought I heard a trace of coolness in his voice, like he didn't approve of Sirius's invitation.

"Fine. Peace out, suckers!" Sirius called, holding two fingers sideways, and backing out the door. It was possibly one of the strangest sights I had ever seen. But then again, this was Sirius we were talking about.

Once he was out of sight, James turned to me with an apologetic grimace on his face. "I'm sorry about him… His mother was abusive towards him when he was a child. I'm fairly sure he was dropped on his head 47 times…"

I laughed, and nudged him with my elbow. "Be nice. He's your best friend," I chastised, only half-joking.

"Nah, he's more like a much younger, more annoying brother," James corrected, smiling slightly. "So, technically, it's my job to pick on him."

"Your job?"

"Hey, someone has got to keep him in line!" he told me, laughing.

I laughed along with him, and for some reason unknown to me, I found myself liking the way our laughs sounded together my light, tinkling laugh, and his deep, throaty chuckle. They complimented each other well. "I'm not sure you're the best person to keep him in line."

James frowned, seeming genuinely bothered by the accusation, but he quickly shook it off, and smiled at me. "So, since you're staying with me for the next two weeks…is there anything you need to get from your dorm?"

I smirked. "Actually, I was thinking you would enjoy it more if we got up early every morning so you could get a good look at my smokin' roommates in their pajamas…" I offered, teasing him, testing him.

Lucky for him, he didn't take the bait. He just laughed and shook his head. "Sirius might take you up on that offer, but not me. I'm a one-woman type of guy."

I felt a pang in my chest. One-woman? What was that supposed to mean? Trying to keep my face totally devoid of all negative emotion, I raised an eyebrow. "One-woman?" I asked, frowning when my voice came out in a squeak.

James gulped and turned away from me, suddenly uncomfortable. "Yeah, that." He changed the subject quickly. "So are we going to get your stuff or not?"

I nodded, and headed for the door, towing him behind me.

* * *

"Prongs!" Sirius shouted, barging through the door with Remus and Peter behind him. "Boys' night! Come on, let's go. Rosemerta already has the Lily plug your ears Firewhiskey" he whispered the last word "ready. Wait, why aren't you standing? You should be standing! Stand, you fool!"

James rolled his eyes. "I can't go, Pads. But you guys have fun without me," James said, looking pained to do so.

"Well why the hell not? You can't miss a boys' night, Prongs! You've never missed one!" Sirius whined, his normally deep voice taking on a new height. "You swore you would never miss one!"

"This is true, Prongs. No one breaks the Marauder Code," Remus added reasonably.

Pursing his lips, James glanced sideways at me, and then back at Sirius. "I know," he began quietly, "and I'm sorry. But I just can't do it this time."

Sirius stomped his foot. "Why?" he whined.

James lowered his voice so far it was almost inaudible to my ears. I had to strain to catch it all, so I don't know how Sirius managed to hear it. "Listen, mate, it won't exactly be a boys' night if Lily's there, would it? If I don't go, then it's still just boys, but if she goes…" he trailed off, but Sirius understood. "I'm sorry, but it's for the best."

Sirius studied him for a minute, and finally decided he was telling the truth. "Alright, men, let's blow this pop stand."

Remus and Peter took one last glance over their shoulders, and then left the room behind Sirius, ecstatic at the idea of a boys' night. Right before they left, I thought I saw a flash of knowing in Remus's eyes.

"Listen, Lils, I'm sorry about that, I just didn't-" he started.

"You say that a lot. Now listen up. I had an idea to, er, improve Sirius's look, but I need your help," I said quickly, a brilliant plan forming itself in my head. "What time do you think they'll be back?"

"Well, I'd say two thirty in the morning, but I know Remus will want to go after his third glass, so he'll insist they be back no later than one fifteen," James rattled with out hesitation. "But I'll be able to tell you where they are and give you a heads up."

"Oh? And how will you be able to do that?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

But James shook his head, and pursed his lips. "Nope. Sorry, Lils. I pledged the Quadruple S."

What the hell? I considered letting it go after all, did I really _want_ to know? but my curiosity got the best of me, and once the Curiosity Train got going, there was no stopping it. "What in God's name is the _Quadruple S_?"

James shook his head again. Honestly, that boy was going to get whiplash if he did that many more times. "It is the swear to secure a super secret." When I gave him a blank look, he just waved it away with his hand. "It's a Marauder thing. You wouldn't understand."

Right. I wouldn't understand. It's not like my brain was at least triple the size of all theirs combined, or had Alice Prewett for a best friend or anything. Because, face it, when you room with Alice, you kind of come to expect the improbable. Like _gluing her best friend to her archenemy_. But I'm not going to dwell on that.

"Now, are you absolutely positive that Sirius won't decide to stay up and throw an impromptu party in the common room that might involve stripper's poker?" I asked, shuddering. Just the thought of it brought back memories.

James chuckled. "Sorry to disappoint, but no. He'll be so plastered he probably won't even make down the passageway back to the castle, and then Remus will have to drag him because they'll have forgotten that they are wizards and have access to a wand."

"Right…" I said slowly, deciding I was officially done trying to figure them out.

"So, are you going to fill me in on your brilliant plan, or what?"

I smirked. "Are you sure you'll understand?"

* * *

James was right. Remus and Peter stumbled through the door at one fourteen, dragging a mostly unconscious, incoherent Sirius Black. You could clearly tell they were all sloshed out of their minds. Even Remus, who was normally the kind, sensible one, was mumbling random things about trees. They didn't even notice James and I huddling in the corner, dressed in all black robes and black ski masks.

I was feeling theatrical, okay?

Remus and Peter dumped Sirius on his bed, and then crawled to their own beds, and began snoring loudly only seconds late. They sounded like a bunch of angry chainsaws.

On James's extremely complicated and confusing signal, we crept silently towards Sirius. We pointed our wand at him and began muttering the correct incantations James had taught me a little while earlier. I didn't even ask how he knew all of them, but I got the feeling it involved Snape.

I nearly collapsed on the floor when I saw the finished project. Oh, Merlin, I was too brilliant for words. I'm fairly sure I should've been awarded a plaque for my geniusness. It could have been all shiny and gold with my name engraved on it, and it would have said "most amazingly fantastic person to ever prank Sirius Black". Then underneath my name it would say, "people will forever bow down to brilliant, sneaky, devising feet".

James seemed to agree with me on this front. He grinned broadly as we admired our handy work. "I've got to hand it to you, Evans. I would have never thought of doing this."

See? It's not just me.

"But are you sure we put a Permanent Sticking Charm on them? I think it would teach him a very valuable lesson that he would take through life," he pleaded, looking at me with those big brown puppy-dog eyes, and pouting lips.

Goodness gracious, great balls of fire. "No," I said firmly. "Now let's get out of here, so when he wakes up, he won't suspect us."

James smiled, and grabbed my hand. "I know the perfect place. Come on."

_A/N: Good? No good? Sucky? Amazing? Let me know! I love reading the reviews. It puts a huge smile on my face and just makes my day. Thanks so much for reading! I hope you liked it! Have a great day!_

_P.s. I saw the newest Deathly Hallows trailer at the movies and it looks absolutely amazing! I'm gonna be one of those girls that camps out in front of the theater the night before it come out… _

_With oodles and gobs of love,_

_Livelier_


	11. IDOTN

_A/N: Greetings! I want to start off my saying 'thank you' a million times over. You guys are amazing! I got a great response to the last chapter. I'm so glad you all liked it. Thank you to everyone who reviewed/subscribed/favorited! Every time I checked my email I had another review or another email from . I appreciate it so much! _

_I hope you guys like this chapter just as much. It's not my best, I don't think. I didn't get that feeling while writing it, like I have the last few times. Most of the time, I don't even have to think about it when I'm writing. It just kind of flows from the fingertips. This time was different though. It felt more forced. Let me know what you guys think! R&R!_

Chapter 11: IDOTN

If I would have been in my right mind, I would have yanked my hand from his, or if he caught me on one of my worst days, cursed his toenails off. But I was not in my right mind. I was under the influence of Potter. The affects were quite similar to Pot, and once someone comes in contact, there was no getting rid of the addiction.

Therefore, I could hardly be blamed for the tightening of my grip, and the tingling of my fingers. I was a poor, helpless young woman on Potter.

"James, where are we going?" I squealed, allowing myself to be dragged along with him while I struggled not to trip over my slow feet. "It's after curfew! We shouldn't be out here!"

Of course, the stupid git starts laughing at me. Only Merlin could possible know what has possessed the boy: why would anyone laugh at _me?_ I'm Lily Jinx-your-toenails-off-if-you-make-me-mad Evans!

"Lily," James said, still chuckling away, "we're Heads. It's our _job_ to patrol the halls after curfew."

Oh. Right. I knew that. Still, I desperately clung to the argument I had left in hopes of winning at least one argument with James Potter. "But it's not even our night to patrol!" I protested.

James sighed, and rolled his gorgeous hazel eyes it's the drugs I tell you! at me. "Who else knows that?"

"The Prefects!" I answered automatically.

"And where are they?" he asked, wearing a look of patient support that instantly made me feel like a child learning their ABCs.

Somehow I managed to purse my lips and frown at the same time. "In bed," I grumbled reluctantly. But before he could take my defeat and rub it in my face, I quickly spoke up. "So where are you what the hell are you doing?"

Apparently I was not the only person on drugs here. The bloke was tickling a freaking pear! He's bloody out of his mind!

But of course, it's just hilarious to James. "Relax, Lils. See, look," he said, pointing to the absurd fruit painting, which had now yielded a small handle. "Go ahead. Turn it."

I reached out tentatively, hoping this wasn't some cruel trick, and turned the handle and gave it a pull. I jumped back when the painting swung open to reveal a hole that was just big enough for a person to climb through. And there was the problem. It was just big enough for _a_ person to get through. As in, one person. Uno persona. Not two people connected by some twisted form of magic.

James scratched his head. "Huh. I didn't really think about this part."

I snorted, tempted to make some witty, derisive comment, but held my tongue. Number one rule of thumb for addicts: never insult the supplier of the goods.

Instead of saying anything more, James shuffled around so we were perpendicular to the portrait hole. He was closest so he made the first move. Crouching down low as if we were climbing through a hoola-hoop, James lifted one left and stepped over the lip of the hole, then ducked his head through. I followed suit, and within a few minutes, we were in

"The kitchens!" I exclaimed happily.

A few minutes later, James and I were sitting at one of the many small round tables in the kitchens, devouring a huge ice cream sundae while House Elves bustled around us. I could hardly see James over the towering bowl of ice cream, hot fudge, caramel, sprinkles, nuts, and cherries. I could even taste a bit of strawberry in there too.

"This is so good!" I groaned, dipping my massive wooden spoon into the mix yet again. I felt as if I was gaining six pounds with every bite. If James would have warned me, I could have brought my fat pants with me.

James licked his spoon. "So Lily," he said, waggling his brow, "truth or dare?"

Oh no. "I don't do dares." I shook my head, taking another huge bite so as to avoid more talking.

"Well why not?" James demanded.

The barmy bloke actually thought he was going to get it out of me! I almost laughed aloud. There was no way I was ever in my entire life going to tell him that the last time I played truth or dare, I had used all my chickens already when Alice dared me to knock back seven shots of Firewhisky. I will be the first to say that my system does not handle alcohol well.

I grimaced. "Let's just say alcohol doesn't exactly agree with me…"

James laughed, momentarily forgetting the ice cream in front of us. "Don't tell me is was _you_ who…well, you know !"

Yes, it was I who stripped down to nothing but my bra and panties in the common room and began dancing like a wild woman while singing some Beatles song. I must have looked quite loony to the frightened first years grouped there.

My flaming red cheeks must have given me away; James immediately doubled over with laughter. A horrifying thought came to me. "Wait, you didn't _see_ anything, did you?"

He stopped laughing abruptly, and dug into the sundae with more vigor than before, his face flooding with color. Holy Merlin, father of Ageas. I felt like hiding under a very large, dark boulder.

James cleared his throat loudly. "So, er, Truth then?" he asked nervously.

I shook my head, hit with a sudden idea. "IDOTN," I corrected.

His eyes widened curiously, and he cocked his head. "Heh? What the bloody hell is I dot in?""

I laughed. "It's the International Discussion of the Night. I used to play with some of my Muggle friends when I was younger, before I came to Hogwarts," I explained. "It's a lot like Truth, but there are no chickens, and you have to answer every question truthfully."

Looking slightly wary, James nodded and gestured for me to start the questions. "Go ahead." Upon my stern look, he added, "I'll answer them! I promise." He crossed his fingers and drew an X on his heart.

An idea came out of nowhere and hit me in the brain like a Bludger. The question bubbled to my lips before I could stop it. "Who do you fancy?" I clapped my hand to my mouth as soon as the question slipped.

To my intense surprise, James chuckled as he raked a hand through his messy hair. "What, are we 13 again?" he asked. "It's this girl "

" really? I never would've guessed "

" who is smart, funny, talented, beautiful…" He looked me straight in the eye in a way that made me feel exposed, like my heart and mind were on display. "I love her."

My face fell and somewhere in my chest, I felt a sharp pang. After a few moments of contemplation, I decided that it must have been caused by the amount of ice cream I had eaten in such a short period of time. I set my spoon down. No more for me. I'd rather not die of a heart attack when I'm seventeen.

"Er, great…" I said in a slightly shaky voice, looking away from him. I cleared my throat and inclined my head. "Your question."

James looked curiously at me, like he was trying to figure out part of a puzzle. He stared at me like that for a little while before finally speaking up. "Tell me about your sister. Petunia, I think it is?"

I gulped nervously. "That's not a question," I pointed out, trying desperately to avoid that topic of conversation.

He gave me a look that clearly told me that he knew exactly what I was doing. "Fine," he relented, and for a split second I actually thought he was giving up on that question. "What's going on with you and your sister, Petunia?"

I glared at him. "Nothing is going on. Not that it's any of your business," I sniffed.

"Aw, come on, Lils. I thought we agreed to tell the truth?"

Picking up my spoon again, I sighed. "It's kind of a long story…" James nodded encouragingly, so I went on in a quiet voice, "When we were little, Tuney and I were the best of friends. Then Severus came into my life. He had noticed my magic while, er, _observing_ me" James snorted loudly "and we quickly struck up a friendship.

"Well, Tuney didn't exactly like the idea of me being with him, or me having something she didn't magic, in this case so she started calling me names, and avoiding me… And still, nothing has changed."

Completely forgetting my earlier vow to live past seventeen, I dug my spoon into the sundae once again, filling my mouth with one bite, and doing everything to avoid James's stare.

"Okay." He nodded, satisfied. "Your question."

We continued like that for a couple more hours, until we finished our sundae. The questions got both tougher and sillier as the game progressed. I learned that James had a birthmark in the shape of a Snitch on his left butt cheek…and about 76 other things that I failed to remember because my mind had been focused on the birthmark. I blamed my hormones. Bloody destructive things, they were.

It was nearly four o'clock in the morning by the time we decided to head up to the dorm, and crawl into bed. I fell asleep as soon as my head hit my plush, feathery, heavenly pillow.

"JAMES POTTER!"

I shot out of bed and came face-to-face with a very angry Sirius Black. His normally gray eyes were stormy, and his jaw clenched.

"YOU MADE ME LOOK LIKE STEVE URKEL!"

So the boy knows who Steve Urkel is but not the various types of drugs? What have his parents been teaching him? Honestly, the world these days is just so messed up…

"Steve Urkel never wore pocket protectors," I corrected, barely containing my laughter. "Especially not pink ones. But the rest is definitely reminiscent of Steve."

And it was, right down to the bulky, over-sized glasses, the cuffed blue jeans that were hiked up to his belly button, and the red suspenders holding it all up. Even the white tube socks, and brown leather shoes were perfect on him. They really brought the whole look together.

I snapped my fingers. "James, we forgot the braces!" I exclaimed.

That pushed Sirius over the edge. He drew his wand, and pointed it at each of us in turn. "If you come within five feet of me, I swear I'll curse you! Both of you. I don't care if you are a girl, Evans."

I decided not to remind him that I didn't have to be within five feet to force metal brackets onto his pearly whites. After all, what use was being a witch if you had to get close to your target to perform a spell? That would be utterly futile.

James finally spoke up. "You're looking at this the wrong way, Pads! Think of it like this." He put his arm around Sirius's shoulder, bringing him down to eye level. "You will be the only guy excuse me, man at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Do you know how many doors that could open? You'll be the sexiest nerd these girls have ever seen. They won't be able to resist!"

Attempting to smother my laugh, I grabbed a pillow from behind me and shoved it in my own face. It didn't do much to muffle the bouts of laughter coming from me. I think it actually made it worse. Instead of a hysterical girl, I now sounded like a dying hyena. Or perhaps an angry Howler monkey. At any rate, it wasn't a sound that should come from any seventeen-year-old girl. Ever.

"I'll be the only nerd they have ever seen," Sirius pointed out with a glare directed towards James. Obviously he hadn't heard me hyperventilating over here. "So that would also make me the ugliest nerd they have ever seen."

James shrugged. "Well, yes, technically…"

Sirius turned beet red. "GET IT OFF ME!" he demanded, jumping around and swatting at his body like he had some sort of parasite growing out of him.

James and I exchanged a glance, then turned back to him and shrugged simultaneously at him. "Sorry. No can do."

His eyes widened. "It's not…_permanent_, is it?" Sirius asked in a harsh whisper, as if this was the worst thing he could possible imagine. Clearly his vanity was more important to him than the entire school's entertainment.

"Naw," said James. "I was all for that plan, but Lily forced me to drop my wand. Nearly tackled me, she did. She said I was your best mate, like that's supposed to mean anything to me."

I doubted Sirius even heard the last part. He was too busy staring at me like he was ready to kiss me. I fervently hoped he didn't. Instead, he fell to his knees at my feet, clasping his hands, and bowing over.

"Thank you, kind miss!" he repeated over and over again

I grinned. This was almost better than the plaque! If only I could have a few hundred more people in his place…

James shook his head affectionately, and nudged Sirius with his foot. "Go to class, you great buffoon."

_A/N: ? What'd you think? Did the prank Lily and James pull live up to your expectations? If not, what would've been better, in your opinion? Let me know, please! I'd love to hear from you! Thanks for reading! See you next week! Well, not really, but you get what I mean. _

_Lovingly yours,_

_Livelier_


	12. Discovery

Chapter 12: Discovery

_A/N: Hey ff. net readers! Sorry I'm a little late getting this to you guys, but it's my birthday today and we've been busy all day, shopping and whatnot. __So if you guys wanted to make me really happy, you could review a lot! I would love that so much! That would be the best birthday present ever. Anyway, I'd say this chapter is pretty important. I think you'll see why. If not, I'll explain down at the bottom. I hope you enjoy it. Read and review, please!_

_Disclaimer: (I haven't done this in a while, so here goes…) I solemnly swear that I am up to no good when I write this story. I do not own Harry Potter and am in no way affiliated with JKR or Warner Brothers. Mischief Managed._

Chapter 12: Discovery

Once again, James and I found ourselves walking the corridors, looking out for any evil minions, out of control ghosts, giant spiders, or happy snogging couples. So far, we'd only found two people of the opposite sex crammed into a cupboard the size of my hips that was saying something, because I was as curvy as a very straight, skinny tree. I'm a blessed girl, right?

"Did you see their faces?" James howled with laughter, slapping his palm against in his knee, like it was the funniest thing he had ever seen. Which it probably was, because, honestly, how many times has Sirius Black been made to look like Steve Urkel?

"Whose faces?" I asked, confused.

"Everyone's!" he cried, breaking into another bout of laughter. "Mary Macdonald almost choked on her pumpkin juice when Sirius came into the Great Hall. But the Slytherins were pretty thrilled about it too. They were all looking around at each other, like one of them had the brains to do something like that." He snorted.

I laughed weakly, thinking back to that day in fifth year… I shook my head, clearing my head of such thoughts. Stupid thinking never got anyone anywhere anyway. Try saying that five times fast!

My head snapped up at the sound of a muffled bang, and then some harsh whispering. James seemed to have heard it too. We paused for a moment, but heard nothing else. Someone must have had the sense to cast a charm over it.

He placed a finger over his lips, and pulled out his wand as we started to creep forward in the direction of the noise. I grabbed my wand from inside my cloak.

A soft glow of light seeped around the corner of the hall. It seemed to be issuing from an empty classroom that had been used for Defense Against the Dark Arts until a simple Shield Charm had gone very wrong… The poor bloke who had cast it never regained his sanity.

Suddenly James moved like he was going to drop to his knees and begin crawling toward the door. I tried to point out why this was not a good idea, but he didn't listen. He plummeted to the ground, forcing me to go down with him. Needless to say, it wasn't very graceful. I ended up sprawled across the castle floor face first.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" I hissed at him as he attempted to crawl away from my wrath. "These jeans are brand new, James! I'm not going to crawl across the cold, hard stone floor! That's preposterous!" I struggled to stand back up.

That response was met by a disbelieving look from James. I quickly clamped my mouth shut, and again dropped to the ground like a fly that had ran into a swatter. I smiled sheepishly at James, and started to clamber towards the door with him. When we reached the door, he gestured to the back of his pants, near the hemline of his shirt. So basically he was jabbing a finger at his arse. I was just trying to be a polite young lady by saying it in a more gracious way.

"Underneath my shirt, tucked into the waistband of my jeans is a mirror. I need you to take it out while I try to figure out what the hell is going on in there," he said. I felt as if I was an Auror, and Mad-eye was giving me instructions on how to get killed in the best way—taking someone else down with you. It was quite creepy.

But a mirror, though? Really? I guess it shouldn't surprise me that Sirius Black's best friend carries a mirror around in his pants. "What use is mirror in this situation?" I demanded, reluctant to reach my hand down both his shirt and his pants. Didn't I just state that I was a polite young lady?

"It'll help us in two ways. Please, Lily, just grab it."

I grimaced, but untucked his shirt nevertheless. Sure enough, a silver, gilded handle stuck up out of his waistband. That can't be very comfortable. Cringing, I quickly took a hold on the handle of the mirror, ignoring the way my heart rate sped up as my hand brushed his lower back and his poorly concealed shudder, and pulled on the mirror.

Gasping, I patted my head. "Why didn't you tell me my hair looked like never mind." I looked away, embarrassed again by my girlish-Sirius behavior.

Ignoring that last slip up, James who was laying on his stomach, attempting to peer under the tiniest crack between the door and the floor gave me another set of instructions. "Now say Sirius's name into the mirror, and tell him to come here. We're on the fifth floor by the old DADA room." I resisted the urge to tell him that I didn't need him to act as one of those annoying, talking GPS doohickeys. "Then when you're done with that, turn the mirror sideways and try to see inside that room. We need to figure out what's going on in there. I can't hear anything, and the door is protected by multiple enchantments. Whatever it is, it's serious."

Nodding solemnly, I spoke into the mirror, feeling faintly ridiculous honestly, talking to a mirror! I was surprised to see Sirius's face pop up.

"Evans!" he greeted me happily. "What's up, buttercup?"

I cast that aside without even really hearing it. "Listen, Sirius, we need your help ugh, I can't believe I just said that! James and I are on the fifth floor, in the corridor on the right hand side, right by the old DADA classroom. You know the one where that one dude nearly got blown up…"

Sirius laughed loudly. "That was hilarious! Anyway, I'll be there in…well, let's just say I'll be there sometime in the future."

"Black!" I barked. "This could be a dangerous situation! Death Eaters may be involved!"

His black eyes sparked if that was possible and I could tell his interest was caught. "Death Eaters?" he repeated, like a dog that had caught sight of a squirrel. "Be there in a flash!"

I rolled my eyes, wondering how someone so simple-minded could possibly make it in life. "Whatever," I said, but he was already gone. I turned to James. "How's that coming along?" I took his grunt as a 'not very well'. "Can I do anything? Oh wait!"

I inched toward the door again, and held the mirror up to the small window, angling it such a way that the light would reflect off the mirror and bounce back into my eye, creating a spectrum of color, infused into one picture, which would be the inside of the room. Yes, that's right. I'm smart. Who would've thought it?

Gasping loudly, I nearly dropped the mirror.

"Lily? Lily, are you alright?" James asked in a whisper, abandoning his gap-peeping readily. "What happened? What did you see?"

Red. Red is what I saw. I was so enraged that was the color that filled my eyes and burned my nose and throat. The only reason I couldn't barge into that room was because of James's arms of steel restraining me, and his hand over my mouth kept me from screaming out in fury. We couldn't hear them, but they would surely be able to hear that.

"Getting a little close there, eh, Prongs?" Sirius teased. Once he caught the look on her faces, he stopped grinning immediately. "Who's in there?"

Pursing my lips, I grumbled unwillingly, "Slytherins".

Understanding lit James and Sirius's eyes. "That ole tosser Snivelly in there?" Sirius guessed. James shot him a disapproving look. My glare must have told him the answer to that question. "Brilliant. Let's go in."

Finally, someone who was willing to be reckless with me! I nodded energetically, holding my wand out in front of me. James, however, was not thrilled with that plan. Or rather, lack thereof. But since when did he give a rip about safety, and plans? This was obviously not the same James I had known a year ago.

A few minutes later, we had managed to penetrate some of the enchantments protecting the room, mostly from my knowledge of Snape's creative works of magic. _Mufliato_ was fairly easy to break, but there were a few that must have been new. The Half-blood Prince was at work again. It was then that James agreed to break into the room.

With Sirius leading the pack, we all fired a Blasting Curse at the door. It was knocked over easily, and we burst into the room. Just as we were rushing into the room, I thought I McGonnagal, and then I wondered why we hadn't called on her or some other talented, intelligent, powerful faculty member to help us. Well it was a bit too late for that now.

We had the element of surprise on our side, that was for sure, but other than that, we had nothing except for our Gryffindor bravery and brains. So basically, we had nothing.

Quicker than we could have expected, the Slytherins began firing curses some of them deadly at us. Sirius ran over to engage in a duel with both his dear cousin Bellatrix and her fellow Death Eater Rowle. Of course, once James took on two more people, I was left with Snape and Rodolphus Lestrange. Neither of these guys were much of a challenge.

Snape was too afraid to even point his wand at me, and Lestrange was busy worrying about Bellatrix, staring at her in a way that seemed both inappropriate for company and sick with worry. I didn't know which one disturbed me most.

Shaking my head, I Disarmed Lestrange with a lazy flick of my wand. He looked around, confused as to why his weapon had left his hand. Then I turned to Snape. He was staring at me, as usual, with a torn, wistful expression on his face. It reminded me of the time when he tried to apologize for calling me a Mudblood. I smirked. He may have an issue with hexing me, but I had no problem with doing the same to him.

"Stupefy!" I hollered, sending a red jet of light soaring towards him. He didn't even try to block it; he just ducked and let it hit the wall behind him. I sent another spell at him, one he was more familiar with. "Sectumsempra!" He deflected that one.

"Now's not the time to be a lady, Lils!" James yelled, dropping to the floor to avoid a curse that looked mysteriously like the Killing Curse. "Dammit! _Densaugeo!_ Whoops, sorry, Lily!" I glared and heaved myself up to a standing position again. I was really getting tired of all this falling and crap.

But my attention was quickly diverted to the massive bloke James had hexed, as was everyone else's attention. Dolohov's teeth were growing at an alarming rate, filling his mouth quickly. The sight reminded me of a rabid dog with all that white foam emanating from his mouth. It looked quite painful really. Painfully hilarious that is.

Us Gryffindors took advantage of the situation, shooting spells at the distracted Death Eaters. I finally managed to hit Snape with one, and he went toppling backwards, looking exactly like a bat. Then I sent a stunning spell at the wandless Rodolphus Lestrange. When it hit him, Bellatrix let out a scream of rage and turned toward me with a contemptuous expression. I felt the urge to cry.

"You stupid Mudblood!" Bella shrieked, turning her focus on me. I quickly ducked a killing curse, and then dodged a Cruciatus Curse a half of a second later. Merlin, that crazy loon was fast!

Sirius gave up his duel with Rowle to come help me with Bellatrix. James was then left to deal with Rowle and some other big dude. If I didn't know it wasn't possible for a wizard to get his hands on steroids, I would've sworn these guys were using them. They were _colossal_!

James took down Rowle and Mammoth Man a few minutes later, but we had still not managed to get Bellatrix. James joined us in the mayhem of color and light. It was like standing in the middle of a busy street in downtown London at night when the cars were rushing around, turning into just flashes of red.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Bella!" Sirius shouted in delight as he sidestepped yet another Killing Curse. How could he be _enjoying _this? The crazy bastards were trying to kill us! "_Furnunculus!" _

Bellatrix yelped as humongous boils erupted on her face. Her hands went up to her face to find out how bad the damage was. I shot a body-bind curse at her while her hands were busy, and grinned when she locked up and fell backwards.

"You might want to not touch those," I advised with a triumphant smirk, standing over her. Her eyes—the only part of her that could move—narrowed at me in a glare. I felt like I was looking into pure ice.

"Nice one, Lils," James complimented, slinging his arm over my shoulders. "Very clever using the full body-bind right after Sirius sent that disgusting hex at her." He pounded Sirius's fist, laughing at the disgustingness of it all.

"Thanks," I said, my awareness slightly diverted at the feel of his arm around my shoulders. It was very warm, comforting. I felt safe. I shook my head. "So what are we going to do with these guys?" I asked, waving my hand at the boil-covered, unconscious, and toothy Slytherins lying on the floor.

James and Sirius shared a look, then looked at me, and grinned. I got the feeling that whatever we were doing is not only against the rules, but could probably land me a nice, cozy cell in Azkaban.

_A/N: Does it make sense why this in an important chapter? Seeing Snape with the Death Eaters kind of solidifies Lily's decision. This is the point where she sees that she's done looking back. Yeah?_

_So tell me what you think of the chapter! I'd love to know. Like I said, it would be a great birthday present if I got over…let's say 17 reviews. Thanks so much! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! _

_With all the love I am capable of,_

_Livelier_


	13. Sopping

_A/N: I'm going to try something different today. My uber long, super pointless author's note will be at the bottom. Enjoy! __Sorry this one is a bit shorter… _

Chapter 13: Sopping

I couldn't believe I was crying. No, correction: I was freaking sobbing my eyes out over that stupid git! Even after all the things he had done to me and the terrible things I suspected he'd done, I had my head laying on James's shoulder, crying. Bloody hell. I blew my nose when James handed me yet another tissue. After I had used it, I discarded it on the huge pile at our feet.

"T-thanks," I sniffed, wiping my eyes on his sleeve. "I'm sorry about this. I'm being stupid."

James stroked my hair tenderly. It felt nice but foreign and stilted too. "It's okay. You can't help it."

"Excuse me?" I said, looking up abruptly. Did he just insult me?

Confused, his brow furrowed. Then his eyes lit up and I knew he understood. "I swear, I didn't mean it like that. When I said 'you can't help it', I was referring to your crying." He shrugged. "As much as I don't like it, Snape is a part of you. He was your first friend here at Hogwarts. The first one you shared your magic with."

"I just can't believe it. I mean, I always knew there was something different about him. He was never as dedicated to the good side as we were, but I always thought that he wasn't like all those other Slytherins." I bit back another round of tears. "But now I know. Now I know that he's just as slimy as the rest of them." We both stood up at the same time, sensing the end of the conversation.

Pointing my wand at my body, I magically changed my clothes, and freshened up my face. I didn't even dare look in a mirror; I knew what I would see wasn't going to be pretty. Since James still hadn't mastered those simple hygiene spells, I changed James's clothes for him as well. When we were finished, we joined the rest of our friends down at breakfast.

"Hello, how are you on this fine classless morning?" Alice greeted us, oddly chipper for this early. "Sirius said you had something to show us…"

Ah, and the truth is revealed. I gave Sirius a look. "You shouldn't tempt her like this."

The tempter shrugged and pasted on that silly grin of his. "Well someone needed to see our handiwork. It's one of our best pranks yet, I'd say. How bout you, Prongs?"

Lucky for him, James just rolled his eyes, and continued to fill his plate with towering piles of food.

"It's hardly a secret, Sirius. You made sure of that," I pointed out reasonably, nodding towards the large window at the other end of the Great Hall where large groups of students were grouped.

Shrugging nonchalantly, he slapped a biscuit out of James's hands despite his protests. "It's the last one, and besides, you need to watch your weight if you're going to…" James shoved the aforementioned biscuit in his mouth to drown out the rest of the sentence, which I was sure I didn't want to hear. Sirius swallowed the biscuit whole without even bothering to chew.

Alice was tapping her fingers against the table impatiently. I reached across the table and grabbed her hands. She stopped tapping immediately. "Lily, can we go see Sirius's geniusness now?" she whined, drawing out the syllables of each word much longer than they should be.

Em, who had been so quiet that Lily hadn't even noticed her, stood up and walked around so she was right behind Lily. "Alice," she said, obviously disapproving, "you've got to be a little bit more forceful than that…"

I felt an unsettling jerk on the back of my jerk, and I promptly fell off the bench. From the floor, I looked up with wide eyes as James teetered and wobbled on the very edge of the seat. Don't fall, don't fall… It seemed like everything was in slow motion. James tried futilely to grasp at the lip of the table, but when his hands only came up with air, he fell backward.

This is where I'm supposed to say that he fell with an astounding grace, his back arced perfectly… I would say that, but that would be lying. James did not fall with grace, and his back was not arced perfectly. In fact, it was not arced at all. He fell flat onto his back, landing half on top of my body, with his arms and legs flailing wildly.

"Holy mother…" I groaned, but before I could finish the rest of my sentence, Em pulled me up by the back of my shirt again—if it's permanently stretched, she's buying me a new one! She even managed to get James to his feet too. Merlin, I didn't know she was so strong.

Unfortunately, James still had not managed to completely regain his balance, and he slipped on a bit of spilled milk as soon as he got to his feet. The entire Great Hall echoed with laughter, and for once, it was directed _at_ him, instead of at the receiving end of his prank. His face was quickly turning pink.

Em towed me out the door with James sliding along behind me. "Al, are you coming or not?" she demanded over her shoulder. Alice, Sirius, Peter, and Remus abandoned their food without a thought—surprising, because Sirius never left a plate of untouched food—and followed us out the door.

"Ta-da!" Sirius said in a singsong voice, stretching his arms out and waggling his fingers toward a tree. "So, what do you think?"

We all stared blankly at the tree that stood before us. What was it that we were supposed to be looking at? Alice seemed to have read my mind. "Er, yes, what a lovely birch tree. It's a very unique shade of white. And the sheet, too, is very nice. Must be 500 thread count Egyptian cotton?"

Looking confused, Sirius shot her a weird look before he seemed to realize something. "Oh!" he exclaimed, whipping off the sheet at the base of the tree.

Six human bodies—alive, of course—were tied to the bottom of the birch by the lake. They were all tied and bound, with a strip of duct tape over their mouths—totally unnecessary if you ask me. Why not just put a silencing charm on them? That would take a whole hell of a lot less effort. Do you know how difficult it is to find duct tape in a magical castle? Three hours and fifty-seven minutes to be exact. That was when Sirius realized that there were two gigantic rolls of it underneath his bed. Only Merlin knows where he managed to find that.

Em and Alice were doubled over, laughing loudly at the imprisoned Slytherins. Remus just sat there with a disapproving look upon his face, while Peter smiled admiringly up at James and Sirius. Personally, I tried very hard to block the memory of me tying them up to the tree. I was the Head Girl for Merlin's sake! But it was pretty hilarious…

Bellatrix was glowering at us with her eyes. Sirius had taken the opportunity, and put her in a full-body bind again. Snape was sitting there glumly, his shoulders slumped, and hair hanging in his face. I kept my eyes firmly focused on everything but him. The rest of the Death Eaters were either asleep—lazy gits—or struggling against the strong ropes that held them to the tree. I suspected the other ones had figured out that there was no way they were getting out of this, and given up. I didn't blame them.

"…I was kind of disappointed, though," Sirius was saying in the tone of voice he reserved for impressing busty, brainless bimbos. "They weren't even doing anything. They were just _talking. _I was hoping they were torturing someone… That would have for sure gotten them expelled. But I guess it's for the best. The quicker they're expelled, the quicker they can join Voldy's ranks."

But all his talk was useless. Alice and Emmeline weren't even paying attention. They were too busy taunting Bellatrix. I wanted to warn them, to tell them that it wasn't smart to bait her like that. It would only come back to bite them on the butt sooner or later. But I didn't say anything.

We quickly grew bored of watching the Slytherins, so we went down to the thin sliver of pebbled beach down by the lake. The black water looked a little less than inviting for a chilly early October morning. Neither did the ground. I put my hand on James's chest to stop him from sitting down on the rocky ground. I quickly retracted my hand.

Remus seemed to notice this as well. "It looks cold," he observed.

Suddenly I wasn't so glad I opted out of sitting down.

Before I could even respond or react, a mischievous twinkle entered Sirius's eye, and with a sharp shove, James and I plummeted into the icy cold water. The darkness engulfed me, and I couldn't tell which way was up. It was hard to believe that the lake was this deep right here. As I kicked wildly, I felt James's strong arm wrap around my waist and pull me up toward what I thought was the surface. When my head broke from the water, I gasped for air, slapping the top of the water.

I opened my mouth to scream at Sirius, who was writhing on the ground, laughing, but James cut me off. "Just go along with it. He won't get as much out of it that way," James whispered, his lips brushing my ear. It sent a series of pleasant tingles down my spine.

I looked over at James to see his hazel eyes—they were more green today—sparkling. "You have green flecks in your eyes, did you know?" I blurted out. Thinking before acting wasn't exactly on of my strong points.

But James just laughed, exposing his perfect white teeth, and throwing his head back so his hair fanned out. His usually messy black hair was even messier now, sticking up in every direction. He ran his hand through it when he stopped laughing, which did help it much. Even his cheeks were flushed rosy pink from the cold water. He looked…well, he looked quite adorable to be honest. I'd never realized how incredibly good-looking he actually was.

And how incredibly close he was. His lips were just inches away, looking softer and more inviting than any guy's lips had a right to be. And he was so close. His delicious scent was filling my nose, and clouding my mind. Without my conscious knowledge, I felt my face moving closer to his, and my eyes flutter closed…

"How's the water?" someone called from the bank. My head snapped up, and I nearly let out a growl. I was going to murder her in her sleep. Too bad I didn't know who 'she' was. I thought it was Em, but I couldn't be sure. It was girl for sure, which left with two choices. So I was close enough.

I smiled at James. The water was great. It really was. In fact, I couldn't even feel the water anymore. But that could be because my body had gone numb.

"It's perfect!" I called back. "You should join us!" I laughed with pleasure as all their jaws dropped.

James grinned at me, and turned onto his back. I followed suit, and we began to kick out farther into the lake, leaving our friends on the bank.

_A/N: Hello! It's Saturday again… I hope everyone's week has been good. Mine has been pretty good… And a large part of that is due to you guys. The response to the last chapter was fantastic. Thank you to everyone who wished me a happy birthday! I had a great day. I'm so glad everyone liked the last chapter. I had a lot of fun writing it. I'm incredibly excited for the next few chapters. I have a good feeling about them. __I'm thinking there will be about three or four chapters left. I have the next two planned out, but I'm still figuring out how and when to end this thing. To be honest, I'm trying to drag it out for as long as possible, just because I don't have any ideas for another multi-chaptered fic yet… Any ideas? I kind of want to get away from the Lily/James thing for a little while. I'm not tired of it, not even close, but I just want to try my hand at a few other pairings. _

_Well, I'm writing a freaking chapter in itself, so I'm going to let you go. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please, review! Thanks!_

_Love always,_

_Livelier_

_p.s. What do you think? Should I keep doing my ANs at the bottom or go back to the top? _


	14. Out of Season

_I wrote this on Monday when I was in a very creative mood, and I decided I couldn't wait until Saturday to post this. Don't you think I deserve a reward for my lack of patience? Lol. Enjoy! R&R!_

_Disclaimer: I write on a Dell laptop when my parents aren't at my tiny house in a little town in a small state, and my dog is outside barking at some squirrel. Does that prove I'm not JKR? _

Chapter 14: Out of Season

I expected things to change after the almost-kiss in the lake, but things went on rather normally, surprisingly. It was almost as if it had never happened. The only things that assured me that it wasn't just a dream were his distinct smell, and the look in his eyes as his head bent towards mine. And those lips…the lips that never touched mine, thanks to Emmeline. My imagination couldn't possibly have made that part up.

For a few seconds, I tried to imagine what kissing James would be like. It couldn't be as bad as I once thought it would be. Stacie Crawford swore it was the best snog of her life—and that's saying something—when she went to Hogsmeade with James back in fifth year. But I had it on good authority that Stacie had practically thrown herself at him: James had come back early that day, wiping his mouth with a disgusted look on his face, swearing to me that he wasn't even on a date with the oh-so eager Hufflepuff girl.

I gave the girl detention the next day, saying that she had sent a Tripping Jinx at James when, really, it was me. I hadn't been able to explain that to my friends back then, but now I know better. It was jealously that caused me to do that, and it was still jealousy that drove to accidentally spill pumpkin juice on any girl that was overly flirtatious with James. Call it petty and juvenile if you will, but at the time it was a necessity. Drastic times call for drastic measures, right?

A hand to the face slapped me out of my reverie. "Ow! What was that for?" I cried, turning to look at James with accusatory eyes. His arms were stretched out in both directions, and his mouth was open in a yawn. For a moment, he kind of resembled a bird.

"Oh, sorry, Lily," he apologized, his voice groggy and filled with sleep. "I didn't mean to, er, gently tap you in the face."

Gently tap? _Gently tap?_ Oh, please, that was more like a knock out punch those UFC guys throw at their bloody opponents! Well, what comes around goes around, right? I punched him as hard as I possibly could at this time of the morning in the shoulder.

"Ow freaking _ow!_" he exclaimed, clutching his shoulder and rocking in pain. "What the hell did I ever do to you? That's a rhetorical question, Lily! You don't have to answer it!"

I laughed evilly to myself. Faking an innocent expression, I put on my best puppy-dog face and let my lip slip into a pout. The affect was almost immediate. "I'm sorry, James, I didn't mean to. I was just giving you an affectionate pat on the arm. I didn't mean to _hurt _you."

He looked at me with wide eyes, and then turned away, and started mumbling to himself as he threw the covers back. "Stupid big green emerald orbs. Thinks she can just pull that… _look_ and I'll turn into putty. You're an idiot, James, an absolute idiot."

"Er, James? You know I can hear you, right?" I asked, dropping the pathetic little act. "It's safe to look at me now, by the way. You won't turn into _putty_."

James rolled his eyes and pulled out his wand to change his clothes, and freshen up. "You're despicable, you know that?"

I nodded happily. "Yup! And you love it." What? No! What made me say that? Dear Merlin. Someone get me that blasted sock again. Stupid, useless, lovesick brain!

To my intense surprise, James just grinned at me and winked.

"Tosser," I threw at him.

The other boys weren't in their beds, so we assumed they had gone down to breakfast, and headed down the stairs of the boys' dormitory. We had barely stepped off the stairs when we heard someone call his name.

"Hey, James!" a dark-haired Gryffindor called eagerly when we entered the Common Room. "Ready for the big match?"

James glanced at me nervously like he was scared of what I would do if he replied to the girl, and then he shot her a confused look. "The match against Ravenclaw? Yeah, I 'spose, but that's not for another week…"

It was quite obvious that James thought the nameless beauty was slightly bonkers, but she didn't seem to notice. "Oh, really?" she giggled, batting her eyelashes in a way that was meant to be attractive. "Must've slipped my mind."  
I've got to give it to her—the girl was persistent.

"Er, yeah, must have," James agreed, scratching his head.

Before she could open her mouth again, I turned on her. "Is there something in your eyes?" I asked rather abruptly, and—judging by the hateful look the dumb bimbo sent me—quite rudely. I faked a smile at her, not exactly caring what she thinks. "No? Oh, I thought that was why you were blinking so much." I turned away from her and winked at my friends by the door. "Come on, James, let's go to breakfast!"

Flipping my hair over my shoulders, I dragged James out of the room. I could feel the girl's glaring eyes on the back of mine. _Glaring a hole in the back of my head isn't going to work!_ I grinned to myself, singing that like a mantra.

Sirius's appreciative voice floated up to me. "Damn. Lily Flower's pretty good…"

Yes, I am, Black. Yes, I am…

James wrapped his arm around my waist as we hopped down the stairs one at a time. Another that had changed since the almost-kiss: James was a little less hesitant in touching me, which suited me just fine. Yesterday, for example, James had helped me dry my hair out, while I joked about how he would be such a good buddy to have at a slumber party—we could braid each other's heads and everything! As always, James had a smart retort for that one. "Will there be girls walking around, wearing next to nothing?" I smacked him for that one, and then decided to taunt him a bit. "No, normally, it's just me who does that." I enjoyed the look on his face when I said that.

My mind was snapped back to earth when I heard Sirius swear loudly behind me. James and I whipped around. Sirius was hurriedly whispering something in Remus's ear. Remus nodded. Sirius swore again. "I, er, forgot something! In the common room… and I need to go get it…with some help." He looked around, and the grabbed Alice's hand, then quickly dropped it. "Nah, Frank would kill me. Rem, you better take her, and I'll take Em."

"I don't need you to escort me, Black," Em snarled, jerking her hand away from him, and stalking off in the direction of the tower. Remus and Alice followed her.

"Whoa, someone's PMSing. Later, gators!" Sirius called cheerily, running after their friends, leaving James and I standing there, shocked.

I turned almost robotically, my brow furrowing as I looked up at James. "Well, that was…odd."

James snorted, like odd didn't even begin to cover it. "That's Sirius for you."

I nodded absently. Something seemed off. It was completely normal for Sirius to forget things, and even swear loudly for no apparent reason, but for him to take hostages to help him look for whatever he forgot? And for him to blow off _breakfast_? He couldn't resist a trip to the kitchens if they were on the same bloody floor! Definitely strange behavior if you ask me.

In fact, I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I failed to notice how I was no longer moving when I lifted my leg to take a step. I looked around.

We were standing in the doorway to the Great Hall, and there were many very anxious eyes staring at us. "James, why can't I move?" I asked, looking up to him, but he didn't seem to have heard me.

He was staring up at the doorframe, cursing under his breath, and muttering about Sirius being a sly, dead dog. It was all very confusing. What did the doorframe ever do to him? And then I saw it. A leafy green plant adorned with a red bow was hanging above our heads. Mistletoe.

"I guess we have to kiss now, huh?" I asked with a shaky laugh. It's not that I didn't want to kiss him—Merlin knows how much I did—but here, in front of the entire school, my stomach was a little queasy.

James turned to me, and the look on his face startled me. It was strangely torn, like he couldn't decide between two choices. Was kissing me really such an unbearable idea? For some unknown reason, I felt a pang in my chest, and tears sting in my eyes. Maybe I was wrong about him after all. Maybe he was still that same arrogant pig he had been the last six years. Maybe he didn't really like me at all. Maybe he only pursued me so persistently because I was unattainable. Maybe it was the thrill of the chase that kept him coming after me for so long.

Suddenly I had the urge to punch something—preferably his face, but a wall would do too.

When he spoke his voice was low and urgent, filled with something I couldn't put my finger on. It was like he was begging me to side with him, to go along with his plan. "Lily, we don't have to do this. I can ask Sirius to take it down, and nobody would be the wiser."

Something akin to indignation sparked within me. Oh, I would kiss him all right, but it sure as hell won't be what he expects. "It's fine, James," I said evenly, keeping my face and voice as blank as possible.

He stared down at me for a while, seeming to judge whether or not I was lying. I stared back at him, my face as blank as a sheet of paper, and then he looked out at the students in the Great Hall. Every single eye was on us, including those of the professors. Have they no shame at all?

James let out a breath I didn't know he had been holding, and sighed before leaning in so he was mere centimeters away from my face. I sighed, squeezed my eyes as tight as they would go, then took a hold of the collar on his robes and pulled my lips up to his. The moment they touched a shock ran down my spine, nearly causing me to gasp out loud. But I didn't, thank Merlin.

James seemed all too eager to kiss me, but I just stood there, straight as a board with my eyes scrunched up, letting him kiss me. His lips were just as soft and silky as I had imagined them, and Merlin, he was a fantastic kisser, but I tried not to let any of that faze me. It was just another kiss with just another bloke that didn't really mean anything to me.

All the while, I chanted to myself "There's nothing special about this kiss. There's nothing special about this boy." The mantra seemed to work, because just a few seconds later, James pulled away with a confused and slightly hurt look in his eyes. His hazel eyes—with green flecks in them!—probed mine, but I just looked away, and started marching off toward the Gryffindor table.

"Take a picture, it will last longer!" I snapped as we passed the Slytherin and Hufflepuff tables. Honestly, where was their dignity?

If I had the choice, I would have sat as far away from James as possible, but seeing as we were connected… I didn't have much of a choice. As soon as we sat down, I made a grab for the food, piling as much as I could onto the plate, and began talking to Alice about an Arithmancy essay that didn't exist. Em and Alice, who had arrived separately just after the kiss, caught on quickly, and talked to me or James every spare moment when there wasn't food stuffed in their mouths.

It continued like that for the rest of the day. During free periods, we all went to the Common Room to work on homework and chat about how utterly bonkers Professor Slughorn was, or how fake some Hufflepuff's teeth were. I didn't speak to James the rest of the day, except for four words at dinner: "Pass the potatoes, please." I didn't even bother to say "thank you" when his fingers lingered a little too long on mine as he held the bowl out to me.

From the outside it appeared like nothing was wrong. But everyone knew that something was happening, and it wasn't for the best. Remus shot me a look every time I faked a laugh, and Em stomped on my foot when I didn't thank James for the potatoes. There was only one time where everything seemed to go back to normal, and that was when Dumbledore and McGonnagal got caught underneath the mistletoe. And even then, the genuine laughter had only lasted a short while, before we lapsed back into the forced conversations and the awkward silences.

I knew there would be hell to pay later that night when James and I had to patrol, but I tried not to think about that as much as possible. When I did slip up, and think about it, the words _deny, deny, deny _popped into my head. And that was exactly what I was going to do.

Deny, deny, deny.

_A/N: Hmm…so this was kind of a change in pace from the previous chapters. It's not so much laugh out loud hilarious, but definitely more serious (I resisted making a Serious-Sirius pun there) and reserved. I had to listen to slightly depressing songs while writing it, if that tells you anything. _

_So, before I started writing this chapter, I logged onto , and guess what I did? I read every single one of my reviews for Joined at the Hip, With You, and Bet on Me. I was grinning like a total lunatic the entire time. They made my day! And can you believe that I'm almost at 100 reviews? Ahh! It's so amazing! I was shocked when I saw the number 93 under the review column. My other story, Bet on Me, had 97 reviews! Yikes. I was thinking there was around 70… haha. _

_So, anyway, I think I finally decided that this story is going to be 19 chapters. Why? Because 20 is simply too long for me, and I don't think I can get in everything I want to in 17 or 18 chapters, so 19 is perfect! Just five more to go…_

_This is getting ridiculously long again, isn't it? Okay, well I'll just cut to the chase then. _

_I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did writing it! Let me know what you thought about it in a review! I read them all, and as I said before, they make my day! I want to get to 100 with this chapter. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week! _

_With all the love I am capable of holding and more,_

_Livelier _


	15. Meaningless

_A/N: You're going to hate me, so I'll apologize in advance… I'm very sorry for what's about to happen, but I promise it will get better. R&R maybe?_

_Thank you to Elena Fisher, Twisted Identity, Marie Chontelle, IKay09, CimorellixBleachxLoveerx3, sophis-renis, thePhonyOversize, MayHopeCullen, ClamKidToTheRescue, and JamesLilyHarry for reviewing on Wednesday! I'm sorry if I missed anyone! _

_Disclaimer: Since I'll most likely die after this chapter is published, it won't really matter if I'm JKR or not, will it? But just in case someone decides to sue me, my name is Jessie not Joanne and I don't have a British accent or hundreds of millions of dollars, unfortunately. _

Chapter 15: Meaningless

Surrounded by friends, it was much easier to ignore James's presence. Remus and Sirius somehow intuited that something was wrong, so they hardly left James's side, constantly badgering him about Quidditch practices, pranks to be pulled, and exams to not study for. Em and Alice also sensed that something was up, but the woman's intuition they possessed led them to believe that it was something about the kiss and James. Smart, aren't they?

I would have happily faked sickness or broken my own pinky finger if it meant that I could get out of patrols, and therefore being close to James, but alas, no such luck. I had to be stuck to the only bloke I had ever fallen for. Whoops, did I just say that? Yes, I was in love with James Potter. I didn't know how or when it happened but somewhere along the road, the very thick, bold line between enemies and lovers was blurred past the point of recognition. Hell, the bloody line didn't even exist anymore!

Of course, the only guy I could be stupid enough to fall in love with only pined after me because I was the only girl who had ever said no to him. And I intended to keep it that way. Perhaps part of me only resisted because I knew that acting uninterested might prolong the chase a bit longer. The more sensible, smarter, cautious side of me—otherwise known as my _brain_—recognized the fact that heartbreak was inevitable in this situation, and that heartbreak would always be on my side. My heart would be the one shredded to itty-bitty pieces and then fed to the Giant Squid. Not James's, mine.

So it was with great reluctance that I allowed myself to be dragged away from the comforting, safe embrace of my understanding friends by a determined, ruthless James Potter. I almost considered "tripping" on my way out of the portrait hole just so he would take me to the hospital wing, and Madam Pomfrey could obsess over a little tiny injury, and demand silence so I could heal. It really was an appealing idea. But I caught the worried, somewhat confused looks on my friends' faces and I decided against it.

Maybe the topic wouldn't even come up. He could be much dumber than he looks, and think that there was absolutely nothing wrong, and just go about patrolling like it was any other day. Yes, it was a bit of a long shot, but it was my only option. Unless you count the idea that I could talk his ear off incessantly for the next two hours about nothing in particular. I could even bring up that lovely Hufflepuff, Stacie, whose heart he had stolen two years ago!

Gag.

Even the thought of her made me want to projectile vomit… onto James's shoes. I smiled at the thought. What a turn on that would be, huh? Who wouldn't want their expensive, designer shoes to barfed upon?

"Lily," James began in an urgent but yet weary voice.

If I let him keep talking now, Merlin knows where that would lead. I had to do something. I instantly made a decision: I would talk for the next couple of hours. Maybe I should have brought some water… My throat was bound to get dry.

"You know, I think we should start at the Entrance Hall today. We started up at the Astronomy tower last time, and I think we should shake it up a bit. Life's too dull already, why make it more so?" I started rambling before he could continue. I was already out of breath, and I still had an hour and fifty-seven minutes left. Deep breath, Lily. Deep breath.

James gave me the funniest look, like I was battier than an old woman locked in a prison cell without her knitting needles or tabloid magazines. He opened his mouth to interrupt, so I plowed on. I really should have had my grandmum make me a list of possible one-sided conversations. Lord knows she's covered every possible topic there is. She talked about the different types of toothbrushes for an hour at a family dinner one time.

By the time we had reached the doors to the castle, I'd already told him about the time when I caught Petunia and Mount Vernon—her dreadful whale of a fiancé—making out in the hot tub. A weird look crossed his face at that, so I immediately shifted the conversation to something a little safer.

In the middle of another family story I was telling, James suddenly grabbed my hand and pulled me through a tapestry into a small passageway I hadn't known existed. He towed me quickly along the dark, cold hall by the hand until we emerged somewhere near the kitchens. I couldn't suppress my curiosity any longer.

"Ja—Potter, how do you know this castle so well?" I asked, slipping up a bit on the name. My voice was shocked, and slightly impressed. I tried to pass the awed tone of voice as confusion, but I don't think it worked so well.

He paused and looked into my eyes for a second, seeming to decide something, before picking up the brisk pace again. "Did you ever wonder where we go at night sometimes?" I nodded, furrowing my brow together. "In first year, Sirius and I dedicated ourselves to learning everything there is to know about this castle. We know all seven passages out of Hogwarts, where they lead, and how to get through them without being caught. And of course, we know about all the secret alcoves and hidden corridors, too. The only person that knows this castle better than us is Dumbledore, I suspect."

I smiled, not being able to hide my admiration this time. My smile faltered as James let go of the hand I didn't know he had been holding. It felt cold and strangely alone without his calloused hand fitting perfectly into it. I looked down at it, thinking there must be a difference in looks too. It looked the same—pale and white and small. My fingers itched towards James's so I twisted my hands together before they could do something rash.

"I know about Remus's 'furry little problem', James," I offered unexpectedly, startling him and myself. I wanted him to know he didn't have to be careful around me, that he could tell me anything. "You don't have to pretend."

Stopping abruptly, he turned to stare at me again. I looked down, letting my hair fall around my face. He put his finger under my chin, and tilted my face up. "How?" he whispered, his breath fanning my face. Was he really that close? "How do you know?"

Laughing weakly, I took a step away from him. His hand dropped from my face like he had been electrocuted. My chin tingled where his finger had been. "I figured it out in fifth year. It really wasn't that hard to guess once I figured out that he left every month on the full moon… I also might've, er, seen you guys heading toward the Whomping Willow one time," I admitted sheepishly.

James nodded. "You always have been smart that way," he said quietly, his hazel eyes holding my gaze.

Feeling my face heat up, I tried to distract myself with something else. It seemed impossible to break his stare though. I was glad when he looked away. I released the breath I had been holding. The air left my cheeks with an audible _whoosh._

Suddenly, James ducked into an unseen alcove, pulling me with him. A small torch burning in the corner lighted the tiny space. The flickering firelight danced across James's face, making him seem even more eerily handsome than usual. His eyes looked more like melting gold instead of green now, and it didn't do anything to help my resistance.

"Why won't you look at me since that kiss?" James asked in hushed tones. "I—I thought you wanted to…" The hurt and confusion in his voice was clear now.

Nothing was making sense anymore. Why would he be hurt? He doesn't care about me. All he cares about is the thrill of the chase. He shouldn't be confused right now; he should be celebrating. He got what he wanted. I kissed him. The chase was over. He was supposed to move on to some gorgeous, willing girl who would give him what he wanted. We weren't meant to be crammed closely together into a tiny cove off a corridor. He didn't care about me.

The thought made my eyes sting, but I bit back the tears and steeled myself for what I knew was coming. "That kiss was just a necessity, James. I thought you knew that," I said, deadpan. The only thing that gave away any emotion at all was my voice, which was nearly pitying. "We were under mistletoe. That's what you do."

He didn't answer for several moments. For once, he didn't have a clever response. Before, I would have been happy about that, but not now. "But the other day at the lake…" James said, blinking rapidly. He looked even more confused than ever, like two plus two wasn't adding up to four.

"I was just caught up in the moment, that's all," I explained softly, my eyes probing his. I took a deep breath. "It didn't mean anything to me, James. That kiss was just another kiss. There was nothing special about it."

James smirked, his lips twisting and contorting into something akin to a smile. "You're a rotten liar, you know that?" he shot at me, shaking his head disgustedly. "Why can't you just admit you feel something for me? Is it really that hard?"

Closing my eyes against the tears, I whispered, "No, because I don't feel anything for you. And you don't feel anything for me either, James."

He gave a derisive snort. "When are you going to grasp this, Lily? I _love_ you, and I'm pretty damn sure that you love me too, but you're too afraid to admit it!"

The tears were going to break through my weak barricade any moment now. I tried again and again to swallow them down, but all to no avail. I could barely find my voice to protest weakly. "No, James, no—"

But I couldn't finish my sentence because he was suddenly _there_. His hands were gripping my face tightly, and his scent was filling my head, making it impossible to remember what I had been about to say. My head was swimming. I could barely register his lips crashing down onto mine, kissing my angrily, every unspoken thought heard loud and clear through his kiss. In the brief seconds when my lips were free, all I could think was how much I wanted him to come back.

"Kiss me," he breathed into my ear as he brushed his lips down my jaw. Tingles shot down my spine, and I obliged.

Bringing his mouth back to mine, I returned his kiss with twice as much force, letting everything pour out. My fingers twisted themselves into the hair at the nape of his neck while his hands pulled my body closer to his, so that we were pressed firmly together. I knew I would regret this later, but there was no resisting.

I pulled away only when oxygen was absolutely necessary. Breathing heavily, I lifted myself onto my tiptoes and placed my lips at his ear. "I'm sorry, James," I whispered, before sliding as far away as possible.

His eyes were unfathomable as they stared at me. The light, the mischievous twinkle was gone. They were strangely dead, blank, like all the color had slowly drained from them and all that was left was a depressing gray abyss. It was like looking in the eyes of death. I felt a piece of my heart crack and break off, falling… I had caused that. I was the stem of the pain he was feeling.

This was all wrong. It wasn't supposed to happen like this! He didn't—couldn't—care! I was nothing to him but a meaningless mouse to be chased and toyed around with. Why, then, did it seem like my whole world was shattering and falling down around me? It felt as if I had turned to stone, and with one swift kick, I had gone tumbling down, leaving nothing behind but a cloud of thick dust for everyone to remember me by.

But still, I was nothing compared to James.

He was nothing but an empty shell to be controlled by an outside force. There was nothing that hinted at life beyond the protective layer of skin. The only thing that assured me of life was his uneven, quiet breaths and the sound of his feet padding next to me as we ascended the stairs to the Gryffindor tower.

I wondered idly how everything could have spun out of control so quickly, and realized that maybe I had been wrong. This wasn't just a chase or an infatuation. It was something that was much bigger. Something called love, and something I had just thrown out like an old dishrag. But I couldn't go back and retrieve it, because the garbage man had already collected the rubbish and deposited it to a landfill where nothing could ever be found again.

What had I done?

_A/N: *Holds up hands as I dodge tomatoes* I'm so very sorry about that. I promise that it will get better in the next few chapters though! But other than that…what did you think?_

_Well, I wrote this Wednesday after I published Chapter 14, so I'm posting this now instead of waiting another week, because I won't be here to update next week! Where am I going, might you ask? Away. Far, far away. Not really. I'm spending a week up at a lake in Idaho with my friend. Should be fun! So, anyway, I hope these two chapters will hold you over until I get back. _

_I may not deserve it, but do you think you could review? I would appreciate that tons! Feel free to express your feelings… no matter how, er, passionate they are! I still love them! Thanks! I hope you semi-enjoyed it. Sorry again! _

_Love you bunches and bunches,_

_Livelier_


	16. Eavesdropping

_A/N: So sorry for the wait, but it's here! Enjoy! R&R!_

_Thank you muchly to the following people: Mogseltof, JamesLilyHarry, ClamKidtotheRescue, lkay09, IceFire Eyes, CimorellixbleachxLoveerx3, Dozy Dora, Book-Mania-Girl520, MayHopeCullen, Vanilladream2310, sophis-renis, Elena Fisher, and thePhonyOversized. I love you all! _

_Disclaimer: Oh, please. If I were JKR I wouldn't have killed off all the Marauders. They would all be living, including Peter, because he wouldn't have ever betrayed them, and Lily and James would never have died. Thus creating the total nonexistence of the Harry Potter series. Satisfied? _

Chapter 16: Eavesdropping

I must have been absolutely out of my mind to think that the day's events would have worn me out so that my brain would instantly shut down when my head hit the pillow. The only things the day's events did to me were leave my eyes red and puffy, my lips swollen, my mouth parched, and my heart cracked and aching.

Needless to say, it was more than difficult to sleep that night, next to James in his bed. He kept his head turned away from me, so I had no chance of making an apology, although I tried many times. I would turn my head towards him, and open my mouth, but nothing came out. It didn't matter anyway; he was asleep, as he should be. But something told me his deep, even breathing and abrupt snores were all a ruse. James didn't snore like a chainsaw. His snores were soft and peaceful, like the distant sounds of waves crashing against the rocks.

But that's hardly the point.

The door creaked open, and I immediately lapsed into a phony slumber. A tiny sliver of light illuminated the room so I was able to see who the intruders were. I sighed inwardly, disappointed although I didn't know who I was expecting to see. It was just Sirius. I assumed he just came back from a trip to the Astronomy tower—his hair was disheveled and his lips were also swollen. He looked like someone had shot his lips with a Stinging Jinx. James hadn't looked like that after we snogged. He had looked much worse, actually. Perhaps that had something to do with my overzealous idiocy…

As Sirius tiptoed through the room, he stepped on a creaky floorboard, and froze. I tried to pass as if I was in a very deep sleep, but my body was as taut as a guitar string. "Prongs? Lily Flower?" Sirius whispered into the darkness. My lips twitched at his name, but I didn't think he saw. I couldn't even tell where he was in the room.

The responding voice surprised me; I had to hold back my gasp. "Yeah, Padfoot?" James asked, his voice weary and…_old_. It didn't sound like him, but I was pleased all the same. I was glad he still had use of his vocal cords after what I did to his heart.

Sirius exhaled. "Oh, you are awake." A bed's springs groaned. Since the weight didn't shift in my bed, I assumed Sirius must have sat down on his bed. "How'd the talk with Lily go?" Something clunked to the floor. A shoe maybe?

Nothing but a sigh escaped James's mouth. He shifted uncomfortably. The room was so quiet I probably could have heard a pin drop down in the Common Room. Speak, James, speak! Normally one didn't have to command him to do so.

"Well, I guess that answers that question," said Sirius with a disappointed sigh. "Damn. What happened? I was so sure that the mistletoe trick would work…" I should've known James was in on it.

Something else dropped to the floor. I didn't want to think what this article of clothing was. Whatever it was, it had the distinct swish of fabric. James sighed again. He was doing that a bit too much for my liking. "I don't know, Pads. One minute she wouldn't shut up about her grandmother at dinner, and then the next she was telling me that there was nothing special about me. I was just another bloke."

That was a total lie. I said there was nothing special about the _kiss_. Not the guy. Merlin knew that as far as blokes went, he was easily the funniest, handsomest, sexiest, smartest… well you get the point. He's the best guy around. Any girl alive—even my picky hundred-year-old grandmother—would be lucky to have him. And that was just the problem.

I could almost feel James's grimace. "And then I sort of, well, lost it," he continued. I nearly snorted. 'Lost it' was an understatement. "I kind of started yelling that she loved me at her, and I loved her too. And then I kissed her." _Kissed?_ He practically molested me! But being the good girl I am, I didn't complain.

"Christ, James." Sirius ran a hand through his wild hair. "You can't just tell a girl you love her and then go snog her senseless. That's _rape,_ Prongs." Very good, Sirius! Perhaps he should get a plaque as well. This one could say _Future Sexual Harassment Officer_. His parents would be so proud. Merlin, I needed some sleep.

"Not if it's consensual!" James protested a little too loudly. Peter's snores stuttered for a second before picking back up in natural rhythm. "She kissed me back!"

I didn't have to see Sirius's shocked expression to know it was there. "Then why the _hell_ aren't you cuddled up in each other's arms right now?" he demanded, throwing his arms in the air. "No, forget cuddling. You should be making a bunch of little James and Lilys to run around the castle!"

Merlin, didn't this boy have any tact at all? Could he not see that his best mate was in a fragile state? Granted Sirius isn't exactly normal, but he should at least have one of those things in your brain that tells you not to say stuff! This is one of those things that it would tell him not to say!

James closed his eyes. I could tell he was torn between punching the bloke and agreeing whole-heartedly. "God, Padfoot," he berated in an almost wistful voice. _Almost._ "Was that really necessary?"

"Sorry, mate. I, er, shouldn't have said that. My bad."

Again, it was totally silent in the small dorm. I held my breath out of fear that James or Sirius would hear. The crickets chirped somewhere outside the castle, and in the distance a wolf howled. My gaze flickered over to Remus's sleeping body unconsciously. He was still there in his human form.

"I think I really blew it this time, Sirius," said James quietly. If I hadn't been paying such close attention I wouldn't have heard him say anything at all. "I don't think I'm going to get another chance at this. I really don't. You should have seen her face, mate. She felt _sorry_ for me."

Just like that the tears began to well up. I couldn't hold them back this time. The careful levy I'd set up to stop them washed away like nothing but a weak pile of soil. They streamed out of my eyes, and poured, hot and wet, over my cheeks. I didn't try to bite them back, or close my lids to act like a dam. Tears flowed over my lips and down my chin, trickling down my neck to my shirt. I hesitantly licked my lips. They tasted moist and salty, like the ocean. I silently begged James to stop.

"And when she kissed me," he went on in that same nearly inaudible voice, "it was like she was telling me that I was right. She was telling me than she loved me but there was something so _painful_ about it. It was like she knew what was going to happen. She knew she loved me but she was going to just throw it to the wind.

"Then when we stopped kissing, she said 'I'm sorry, James'," he imitated her broken voice perfectly. "I felt like a piece of me just…died. I couldn't look at her; I couldn't say anything…I didn't even try to persuade her, Sirius." He looked up at Sirius, and I could hear the tears in his voice. I couldn't believe this. He was describing how I felt, not him.

Something glistened on his cheek. "I let her walk away," James croaked out.

The tears came harder now. I should've said something. So what if I was crying? Let him see how much this had affected me. He deserved to know. This was the perfect chance to tell him. But I couldn't even find my voice. It was lost among the torrential downpour from my eyes.

Sirius bit his lip, not quite sure what to say. "You'll get over her. There's always other girls out there, mate," he said in a voice that was meant to be soothing. It did nothing to sooth me, or James.

"That's just the thing, Padfoot," said James, "I don't want to move on. I don't want any of the other girls out there. They aren't Lily. I love her and now I've ruined everything."

_No you didn't!_ I wanted to scream out. I desperately wished I could assure him that I was still here, and I always would be. Why could I tell such a farfetched lie before, but now I couldn't even open my mouth to tell him the truth?

For the first time in a long time, Sirius seemed at a loss for words. He just stared at James with sad, sympathetic eyes. "I'm sorry, James," he finally managed. "I really am. But it's her loss."

I turned my head, discreetly wiping my face on the pillowcase. Sirius was right. I just walked away from one of the best things that had ever happened to me. And now it looked like nothing would fix this any time soon. I wished things could be simpler. I wished that I could just walk up to James and apologize for being a stupid, blind teenage girl. Then we could run off into the sunset, holding hands.

But we didn't live in that world. And James wasn't one of those dolls you practiced CPR on. He was a real live human being with real feelings, and a fragile heart, just like anyone else. The image of him I had built up in him wasn't an accurate one. He wasn't a robot automatically programmed to ruffle his hair, catch a snitch, and chat up girls. His skin was made of an impenetrable metal, and his heart wasn't stone. He could be broken. Easily. And someone—me—had finally gotten through his head, and broken him.

It didn't feel like I thought it would years ago when I dreamed of getting through to him. Someone needed to tell him how it really is, I reckoned. But now…it didn't feel too good, because breaking him also meant breaking me. And we were both broken beyond repair. A simple wave of the wand and a few choice words couldn't fix this. We were going to have to do that on our own.

It was strange. I thought of James for the millionth time that night, but this time, I saw him differently, like I was looking at him through someone else's eyes. This James was grinning and laughing with his friends, and his Head Boy badge gleamed in the sunlight. A Slytherin walked by, and Sirius stuck his foot out to trip him. The young boy—a third year, by the looks of it—fell flat on his face, and Sirius and Peter howled with laughter. But James pursed his lips and shot Sirius a disapproving look, before bending down to gather the kid's books, and help him to his feet. James introduced himself to the kid, and laughed when he called him "Mr. Potter". James told him to call him "James", and then told him to head off to class. When the boy was gone, James turned to Sirius and good-naturedly took away five house points. Then a familiar redhead walked by, and James instantly turned into a buffoon, laughing loudly and joking with his friends again. But there was something in his eyes. He looked at her like she was the only thing around. In the scene, a light seemed to issue from the girl, drawing James to her like a mosquito was drawn to a lantern. Their eyes met, and the look in their eyes was identical: admiration, wonder, love.

And then I was staring at the red bed hangings again, transported back into the boys' dorms. How strange.

So that was how we looked to outsiders? Like a young couple in love? It wasn't all that surprising, if I thought about it.

I often used to look at James and find myself smiling, before I would catch it, and remind myself that this was the boy who hung Snape upside down from a tree, or that he annoyingly and relentlessly pursued me for years. Then I would go back to hating him and how he pranked the other students, claiming we all needed some fun in our lives. Rubbish way to do it, I would think. But secretly I thought that the pranks were harmless and actually pretty funny.

Turns out I was fooling anyone except for myself.

Why hadn't I been able to see it before? It seemed too obvious now that I knew. I had already known that I had fallen for James, but I hadn't known that it had been rooted this deeply. Perhaps a part of me had always loved him, just as he had loved me from the moment he set eyes on me in first year. James had just recognized it and accepted before I had even thought about it. He had always known.

Now it was reversed. I was the one who knew, and he was the one doubting him and me. And it was my fault.

And I needed to fix it.

For the rest of the night, I planned my attack. I thought of exactly what I would say when the time came for me to talk to him. I mapped out all the possible ways he would react, and how I would respond to each of the reactions. All of the reactions were, however, positive reactions.

I shouldn't have been so stupid.

A/N: Ooooooh! A stupid Lily Evans? Who would have thought it? Lol. Anyways…

_So I just took the best shower I have ever had the immense pleasure of enjoying. Did that make any sense? I didn't think any person could have that much dirt and tree sap on oneself. If you're wondering about the tree sap thing…well, let's just say I had to shimmy up a tree a little ways. I blame my mom. I had to inherit her 5'4" genes. _

_Camp was a blast though! I had tons of fun! The only downside I think would have to be having non-working bathrooms half the time and having to share the two showers with about 19 people… maybe a few more. _

_Okay I'm going to shut up now._

_Please leave a review! They mean the world plus the rest of the Milky Way to me! Thanks a bunch!_

_Love,_

_Livelier_


	17. Not Really Free

_A/N: AAAAHH! You guys are absolutely insane, you know that? 23 reviews this week (not necessarily on the last chapter)! That's a record for me I think. I'm nearly up to 150 reviews on this story alone. It would be fantastic to get up to 200 but since there's only one more chapter, I highly doubt that it will happen. __Anyway, thanks to the following people: sophis-renis, Book-Mania-Girl250, jamesxlily Potter, Blueskies13, Moseltof, thePhonyOversized, Elena Fisher, DarlingILoveYou, Lkay09, lolchika2, Spiritflare, nanidanana, Alice Demer, Beaunaratau, gottaloveJamesPotter, CimorellixBleachxLoveerx3, Wolf Chorus, Smile-Pass it on, Kaiaa, and .weasley. _

_I love you all! _

Chapter 17: Not Really Free

When I awoke the next morning my spirits were high and I wore a huge grin on my face. Today was the day I would finally get James Potter. As I lay in bed, I went over the plan for the billionth time. I would run up to him, he would smile that adorable smile of his, I would tell him that I'm a stupid, brainless bimbo, he would sweep me into his arms, and we would ride his broom off into the sunset with no one the wiser.

But something was wrong.

The bed wasn't warm; the comforting feel of James's plaid flannel pajama pants rubbing against my leg was missing, and my toes were freezing. Before I moved into James's dorm, I always wore socks to bed because my feet would always get cold. But I quickly learned that James had the warmest feet in the world, so I ditched the socks. Now I found myself craving James's freakishly warm feet.

I turned my head—normally the only part of my body I could turn. The maroon sheets were smoothed and pulled up to the head of the bed, and James's pillow was perfectly fluffed. There was only one thing missing: James.

Impossible! We're joined at the hip for Merlin's sakes! It hasn't been two weeks. _He's supposed to be here_.

Then Alice's lofty voice came floating back to me like a long lost memory. _"…this should only last two weeks, or until you both learn something vital about yourselves and each other." _Learn_ s_omething vital about each other and us? What could I have possibly learned about James Potter and myself? The only thing I learned was that I was totally in love with him, and that he wasn't the person I had always thought him to be. Could that have been it?

Damn.

I groaned and buried my face into the pillow, not knowing what to do next and not particularly caring either. After a few moments of moaning and punching at the poor pillow, I sat up and straightened my shirt. My plan wouldn't work if I didn't talk to him, and I can't talk to him unless I find him. But _could_ I find him?

"Damn." I said it out loud this time. I half expected Sirius to come jumping out from the closet and arrest me for my dirty mouth. "You swore! Lily Evans doesn't swear!" he would yell. I would then promptly walk out of the room. But I could only do this if Sirius was talking to me, which he would be if James were talking to me. If.

With a weary sigh I swung my legs to the side so they were dangling off the edge of the bed, and looked around the room. It was empty. The pictures of the four boys that adorned the room were staring at me like I was some sort of criminal. Normally, they would laugh loudly at each other's jokes, talk Quidditch with the famous players on the magazine covers, and even flirt with the bikini-clad girls in the posters on Sirius's wall. Without the Marauders the room seemed blank and cold. But perhaps that was just my ice cube of a heart.

Something white caught my eye at the foot of bed. My heart seemed to beat a bit faster for a second—could it be a letter?—and then as I got closer to the mysterious pile, it suddenly plummeted.

The flash of white I had seen was not a letter, but a shirt. My shirt, to be exact. In fact, all of the clothes I had brought with me when I moved into James's dorm were now folded and stacked neatly at the end of the bed. My toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and comb were all put back into the cherry embroidered pouch I had carried them in. And to top it all off, my wand was sitting at the very top of the pile. I grabbed it angrily, and threw it onto the bed. He wasn't going to get rid of me that easily.

I unfolded all my clothes one by one, then went to the closet and yanked all the empty hangers out of it. I shoved the hangers through the arms of the shirts, and stuck them back into the closet with a fury. Then I moved onto the pants. Those slowed me down a bit since I had to fold them and carefully put them on the hanger with out ripping the buttons out of them. The process calmed me a bit, though, for which I was glad. I didn't have a hope of getting James back if I was acting like a nutter.

When it was all finished, I picked up my wand and stalked blindly down the stairs, forgetting that I was still in my pajamas—which were anything but school appropriate—and my hair was sticking up in every direction. But I didn't really care. I must have run into seven people on the way down the Great Hall. None of them said anything to me about it. Everyone knew not to mess with Lily Evans when she was on a mission. And I was definitely on a mission: Operation Get James Back. OGJB for short, if you will.

As I neared the Gryffindor table, I could see that something wasn't right. Em and Alice were sitting alone at one end of the table. Sirius, James, Remus, and Peter were nowhere in sight. I wasn't expecting to see James there, so it makes sense that Sirius and Peter weren't there—Sirius goes where James goes and Peter follows them dutifully—but Remus was more sensible than the others. Plus, Em was there, and Remus and Em were pretty much inseparable. They swear they aren't dating but I don't believe them. Why else would Emmeline be spending so much time in the library lately? She hates books!

I slid onto the bench across from Alice and Emmeline. They studied me carefully while I stared warily at the table. "You look like hell," Em said with no preamble. She never was one for tact.

"Thanks." I smiled wryly, and picked up a bagel. "You haven't happened to see James around here, have you?" I asked, trying to come off as nonchalant as possible. It didn't work too well.

"Why? So you can tell him how badly you screwed up and that you fancy the pants off him?" Em supplied at the same time Alice said, "Nope, we haven't seen him."

My mouth dropped open. "He told you about that?"

Alice clamped a hand over Em's mouth. "No, Sirius did. He came in earlier this morning—a bit put out, mind you—and spouted off the whole thing to us. Did you really snog James?"

Of course that's the only thing she cares about. I grimaced at her. She took that as a yes and smiled. Before she could get any more ideas, I spoke up. "So you have no idea where James is?"

Em finally struggled free of Alice's hold on her face, and gave her a glare. "Your hand tastes disgusting," she said with a frown, and then turned to me. "Listen, Lils. You really screwed this one up. I'm sure you know that. But if you really love him, you need to go find him, and tell him exactly what you feel."

Alice nodded, agreeing with Em's statement. I wasn't satisfied, though. In fact, I felt like banging my head on the table. Yes, she's right, but that doesn't help me! I still have no idea where he could be hiding! But I didn't. Instead, I stood up and muttered my goodbyes. As soon as I was out of their sight, I broke into a sprint. I could feel the pressure building up behind my eyes again, and I ran faster, nearly tripping over my own fuzzy slippers. I could not start crying. Not here, in the middle of Hogwarts.

I made it back to the Gryffindor tower faster than I believed possible. Could I really run that fast? Perhaps I should ditch magic and go to a regular high school where I could run track and field, and then enter the Olympics and become a billionaire. The thought was rather appealing.

Without thinking, I dashed up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and into James's room. I flopped onto the bed and buried my face into the pillow as I began to cry. It was strangely comforting to be here, on James's bed—my bed, really—with my head in his pillow. It was like a warm much needed embrace. But still, it was nothing compared to the real thing, and that was something I may never have again. It was quite a depressing thought.

There was a soft tap on the door, but I didn't really have the energy to get up and walk _all the way_ to the door. Besides, it probably wasn't going to be who I wanted it to, so what was the point?

"Come in," I called. The pillow muffled my voice, but I knew the unknown person would hear. Sure enough, the door creaked open. I had to crane my neck to see who it was, and when I did, my mouth dropped open.

"Dumbledore?" I blinked and rubbed my eyes. When I opened them, the old man was still standing in the doorway. What the hell?

"Ah, Miss Evans." His eyes were twinkling behind his half-moon spectacles like he wasn't at all surprised to see me lying here, on James's bed, looking like a bloody bear attacked me. I self-consciously pulled on the hem of my pajama shorts. I was suddenly glad I was lying on my stomach—I was sure my tank top wasn't exactly covering much.

I blinked again. "Er, with all due respect, sir, _what are you doing here?_"

He chuckled softly and moved across the room to sit on Sirius's bed. As he sat down, I heard him mutter something about a filthy dog. "I dropped by to discuss a problem with Mr. Lupin. It seems that his mother is sick again, and wants to see him this week."

Why did I get the feeling he was lying to me? "Professor, I know about Remus's 'furry little problem'. You don't have to pretend otherwise."

Dumbledore laughed quietly. Again, he didn't seem as surprised as I thought he should be. "I see. Well, then I came to talk to Mr. Lupin about the full moon this coming Wednesday. It seems that there might be a student who suspects him."

I heard the name he didn't need to say. _Snape._ Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. I didn't want my mind to go back to him. I already made my decision and he already made his. It's as simple as that.

Still, I could not shake the nagging feeling that Dumbledore wasn't telling me the real reason he was here. But why would he lie to me? I decided to take a chance, and voice my thoughts. It couldn't hurt, right? "Sir," I began slowly, studying him as best as I could, "why are you here? For some reason, I don't think it's because of Snape's suspicions."

He smiled at me. He looked…pleased, and I couldn't figure out why. "I believe you are right, Miss Evans."

I waited expectantly, but nothing more came. Was that all he was going to tell me? Surely he didn't come all the way up for a nice chat with his beloved Head Girl. Merlin, that man is confusing.

"So… if you're not here for Remus, why _are_ you here?" I asked. My tone sounded critical even to my ears, but he didn't seem to hear it. "Sir?" I added on as an afterthought. Maybe that would make my demand sound a little less rude. He was the Headmaster, after all.

I considered waving a hand in front of his face. He was busy staring out the window, though there wasn't much to see; it was overcast and rainy outside, a typical early November day. I doubted he even heard my question. He suddenly turned to meet my eyes with a knowing look. His bright blue eyes pierced mine, and I felt strangely exposed, like he could see right through me to my soul. It left me feeling unnerved and wary.

"Love is very funny thing," he offered unexpectedly. His eyes left mine, and went back to the Quidditch pitch outside the window. I sighed gladly inwardly. "Cruel, yes, but when in its truest form, nothing can beat it. Thing is"—his eyes captured mine again—"few experience true love."

I gulped. This was the closest thing to a lecture I had ever heard from Dumbledore. He was more of a "let your instincts guide you because they are nearly always right" type of person. Why did I get the feeling that he was directing this little speech to me in particular? Granted, I _was_ the only person in the room…

"What you have is something to be cherished, not wasted, Miss Evans. It's a gift that can't be replaced. Don't forget that." Dumbledore gave me one last stern look over his glasses, and rose from his seat on Sirius's bed. He paused with his hand on the doorknob. "Everything happens for a reason." Then his voice returned to its usual cheery tone. "Cheers! Oh, and Miss Evans, would you mind telling Mr. Black to clean this room once in a while. It really is quite filthy. I feel bad for the poor soul who will get this dorm next."

The door before I had a chance to respond. I was feeling a bit dazed, like I had just been hit in the head with a Bludger. What just happened? But I didn't have much time to ponder that question, because the door opened again to reveal a head of messy black hair…

Oh, Lord, someone up there really had it out for me.

_A/N: Bwahaha! I was feeling a bit evil today, so I decided to torture you all a bit. I'm so nice, right? Haha I'm just kidding. I had always planned for this chapter to end this way._

_So what did you guys think of this chapter? Love it? Hate it? Want to soak it in lighter fluid and toss it into a fireplace? Either way please let me know! I love hearing from my readers! It makes my day when I go to my email and I see tons of new emails. I kind of torture myself a little though. I always try to wait a day after posting the chapter before I check my email, just because all the emails pile up and it makes me feel totally loved and famous! Well, not really the famous part. Someday maybe… *sighs wistfully*. That would be the life. I am working on an original book, though. A few actually. One with my best friend, one that I got 200 pages into and discovered that I had no idea where I was going with it, and one that I'm totally in love with and I'm currently working out the kinks. I'm super excited for those… perhaps one day they'll get published. Urgh, I'm rambling again._

_Anyway, I have tons of ideas for my next L/J multi-chapter fic. I'll tell you about them next chapter. Can you believe that there's only one more? I'm excited and sad at the same time. _

_Um, well, I'm writing a whole chapter in itself, so I'm going to shut up now, and let you review. Thanks infinity times over again! _

_Xoxoxo,_

_Livelier_


	18. Weeds

_A/N: Again, you all are AMAZING! I'm going to get right to it, so you can enjoy the very last chapter of Joined at the Hip. Thanks a bunch to the following people: Lkay09, Elena Fisher, gottaloveJamesPotter (yes, you do!), Salcilia, sophis-renis, CimorellixBleachxLoveerx3 (I almost have it memorized!), shanegirl4444, VanillaDream2310, Smile-Pass it on, Mogseltof, alicenotinwonderland, vega-48, meghan0095, okok123, jamesxlilypotter, BlueSkies13, Marie Chontelle, DarlingILoveYou, barefoottoes, and thePhonyOversized. _

_For those of you who have followed it from the very beginning, I appreciate it so much! It was nice to know that you guys (girls!) would always be there, reading, reviewing, and just supporting me in general. I love you guys so so much! And if you are new to Joined at the Hip, the appreciation is no less for you all! _

_Disclaimer will be at the bottom._

Chapter 18: Weeds

This could not be happening. _He_ could not be happening. And by 'happening' I mean _he should not be visiting his room while I'm contemplating the many ways to tell him that I'm bloody head over heels for him!_ Honestly, what was the boy thinking, walking into his room, unannounced, like he owns the place? It was rather rude.

I fiddled nervously with the hem of my bootie shorts—that's what Em referred to them as, anyway—and smiled shyly up at him. "Er, hi there." My voice came out horribly squeaky and high-pitched. I sounded like I'd just sucked up a bunch of helium after consuming large quantities of Firewhisky.

James didn't say anything. He just stared at me with wide, semi-dead eyes, looking like he couldn't decide if he should get the hell out of there or snog my brains out. Personally, I wouldn't mind if he went with the latter option, but that seemed highly doubtful at the moment. And that chance was getting slimmer every time his eyes darted towards the door. Then all of the sudden, he was lying on the floor.

Perhaps it was my instincts that kicked in and made me do what I did. All I know is that one minute he was standing right inside the doorframe, angling his body toward the stairs on the other side of the door, and the next, my wand was pointed towards the now closed door, and James was on the ground with a large red mark on his forehead, swearing like a sailor.

Sweet mother of Merlin. Did I do that? "Oh, crap!" I whispered to myself, rushing over to James, and bending down to his level. Before I could check for a concussion, something laying by his hand. I snatched up his wand and tucked it into the waistband of my shorts. His eyes were closed so he didn't catch the movement.

James struggled to pull himself into a sitting position. I put my hand around his strong, muscled back—it's just a back, damn it!—and helped him up. I tried not to let my hand linger on his back. "Are you okay?" I asked once he was sitting fully upright

He shot me a look that clearly said "I just ran into a door, thanks to you. How do you think I feel?" But of course, he didn't say that out loud. He's too much of a gentleman. "I feel fine, thanks." What a liar.

I looked around. This—telling him that I'm totally bonkers for him—would be hard to do sitting on a floor. What if he fell over in shock? If we were on the bed, it would be a much less painful fall. Bu how could I say that in a way that I wouldn't sound like a complete slag? "Perhaps, we should sit on the bed…" Even to my own ears my voice came out suggestive and sexy, like a purr.

His eyes widened as he stared at me for a few seconds. I was mentally screaming at him "not like that, you gorgeous wanker!" Seriously, people and their hormones nowadays. Finally, James nodded slightly, looking paler than ever. A bruise was already forming on his forehead. Now we couldn't have the star Seeker looking like someone had took a sledgehammer to his face, could we?

Drawing my wand as we reached the bed, I pushed him down into a sitting position. "Here, let me fix that for you." I pointed my wand at the light purple blotch on his forehead, and said a little incantation. The color immediately began to drain where my wand had touched his skin. I smiled with satisfaction. "There."

Without even thinking, I leaned in to get a closer look to see if I had missed anything. A few stray strands of hair were in my way, so I quickly brushed them off his face with my fingers. His hand reached up and caught mine, wrapping his fingers around my wrist. Tingles immediately shot down my spine, and my knees began to tremble violently. Could he tell how his touch was affecting me?

He stared up at me. I was happy to see that the gold flecks had returned to his green eyes. He didn't look like someone had killed him anymore. He just looked…depressed and not as lively as before. The twinkle was gone from his eyes, and were replaced my dark circles underneath. Even the irises looked murky and clouded. The only thing that hadn't changed was the familiar look in his eyes when he saw me.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" he asked softly, and I could see the pain clearly on his face. His fingers were still holding on to my wrist, but I didn't really mind much.

"Because I'm a nice person?" I offered meekly, with a small smile.

_Well that's a large cauldron of bull! _He didn't say it, but he didn't have to. I already knew the truth. With a sigh, I plopped onto the bed next to him. His fingers started to loosen their grip, so I pulled my hand out of his vise and intertwined our hands instead. There. That felt much better. He stared down at our connected hands like holding hands was some foreign concept to him.

I heard a voice start to talk, and recognized it as my own. It seemed like my mind and my mouth were working separately. I was thinking one thing, but somehow, something entirely different was coming out of my mouth.

"I think my ventral tegmental area is all screwed up," the voice admitted finally. "Or maybe it's just that my insular cortex and anterior cingulated are just so overpowering, and they're creeping up on the ventral tegmental area like weeds. But those stupid weeds just won't go away. They keep coming back, time after time, no matter how many times I try to kill them, and choking out all the other plants in the garden. Perhaps this is why I always make irrational decisions. The weeds have taken over my entire brain!"

How the hell did I know all this? Sure, my mum was a neuro research pathologist, but it's not like I actually paid attention when Mum raved about her newest findings in the lab to Dad! I rubbed my temples thoughtfully, hyper aware that James was staring at me like I was a psychotic loon.

"What the _hell_ are you talking about?" James asked with wide eyes. Good question, James. Very good question, indeed.

Shifting my body so I was facing him, the voice began to explain. "You see love is comparable to a drug addiction. The ventral tegmental area in the brain controls motivation and reward, which plays a large part in romantic love. I don't seem to have that, and if I do, it's being choked out by the insular cortex and the anterior cingulated—a.k.a. the weeds. That area is associated with physical pain and suffering, which totally explains why I told you I didn't love you the other day. I like to make myself suffer." A light bulb seemed to go off in my head. "Oh! Oh oh oh!" This time it was my own thoughts that spoke.

"Oh, what?"

"You know how we used to fight all the time?" I didn't wait for him to nod, I just plowed on, but of course my stupid mouth had to hijack the conversation again. "Well that's because I interpreted the messages from the nucleus accumbens and prefrontal cortex all backwards! Those parts control cravings and addictions. The reason I used to pick fights with you all the time is because I thought the desire I felt towards you was the desire to have you gone from my life, but really I just wanted to snog you! I was just too stupid to realize that!"

At the end of my mouth's not-so-little speech, I had to catch my breath, which didn't even seem fair. I did not consciously choose to spout off a freaking monologue. That was all my mouth. When I looked up, James was suddenly very close, which did nothing to help my absence of breath. I started to hyperventilate.

"Do you realize what you just said?" James asked, cocking an eyebrow.

_Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in… Breathe out. _"Um, yes, I believe I do." No, no I did not. I had no bloody idea what a nucleus accumbens was, nor did I ever really want to find out. Too late for that.

"And did you mean it?"

He was getting closer. Why was he getting closer? I squinted at him. How could I mean something I didn't understand? "Well, yeah, I "

He grinned. "That's all I needed to hear."

And then suddenly, his lips were on mine and he was kissing me like he was never going to get the chance again, and I didn't really mind that my mouth had taken control of the non-existent conversation because I was kissing him back… a lot. His hands were on my waist, on my thighs, in my hair, pulling me closer to him—a feat that didn't seem possible. My back was pressed against the pillows, and my hands were roaming that muscular back I had fantasized about before. When had he lost his shirt? Oh well. I wasn't going to complain.

Only when oxygen was absolutely necessary did I pull away. Even then his lips were at my neck, my collarbone, my ear. I combed my fingers through his hair while I tried to get my breathing back in check.

"Can I ask you a question?" I panted at him.

He hummed his assent while he nibbled on my ear.

"What did you learn about me that caused us to split?" I asked.

I felt the weight of his body leave mine before I saw what he was doing. He held himself away from me. "I learned that you aren't the perfect Lily Evans I had always assumed you were. You have flaws, just like everybody else, and God knows you screw up. Now it's my turn." He paused for a second before asking his question. "Do you miss being glued together?"

I laughed. "No. If we hadn't have been split, I wouldn't have realized that I'm totally head-over-heels in love with you. Plus," I added, "This would be very hard to do if we were joined at the hip."

James grinned as I brought his face back to mine. "Too right you are."

Neither of us registered the sound of a door banging against a wall, until we heard some loud, obnoxious screaming. James nearly jumped off of me. I tried desperately to straighten my top—all the, er, movement had caused my tank top to slide out of place. It was turned completely sideways, exposing my bra on one side. I grimaced, giving up and reached for a pillow to cover my body instead.

Sirius and Remus were standing in the doorway. Sirius was yelling and swearing loudly, covering his eyes, and Remus was just staring at us like he was paralyzed. "Oh my God! Holy shit! I'm scarred! I've been blinded!" He began slapping the wall. Perhaps he was looking for the light switch? Oh, yes, that was it. Sirius found the light, and flipped it. The lights went out, and he breathed a sigh of relief. "Hallelujah."

Remus laughed weakly. "I guess from now on they'll be joined at the hip no matter what body part we stick them together at," he mused. Sirius made a gagging noise.

From across the room, James grinned at me. "I think you're right," he agreed, as he pushed them back out of the room, and walked back to me, looking sexier than any human being had a right to.

"Have a good day, boys!" I called after them, grinning at James and loving him even more each second. "I love you," I murmured as I brought his face back to mine.

He beamed at me. "I love you too, Lily Evans."

Turns out, life's not so bad Joined at the Hip.

_Disclaimer: I'm going to have to thank AOL News for that bit of info about the brain. Honestly, the most I ever learned about the brain were the basic parts in my sixth grade health class._

_A/N: I cannot believe it's over! I'm so sad! I siriusly (hehe) had the most fun writing this story, and I think it's definitely my best one yet. Things can only go uphill from here, right? I'm super stoked for my next fic. I don't know what it will be yet, but I've got a few ideas, so if you could visit the poll on my profile page and vote for which one you would like to see, that would be awesome. _

_Again, I want to thank EVERYONE who read and reviewed/subscribed/favorited. It meant so much to me. I'm going to sound so corny, but words cannot describe how much I appreciated it. Yep, very corny. Oh well! _

_So, for the last time, please review whether you hated it, or wanted to marry it. Thanks bunches and bunches! _

_Love you all! XOXOXOXOXO_

_Livelier_


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